[kcf]

QuickTidal, on 03 April 2012 - 08:13 PM, said:

kcf, on 03 April 2012 - 08:05 PM, said:

In the last few weeks I've finished up Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell, The Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, and The Wood Wife by Terri Windling. I got a review written for the The Wood Wife, but I'm still working on reviews for the others. I'm now reading Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover - I'd forgotten just how good he is.

I saw CAINE'S LAW in your ToRead pile!

Also, I hear ARCTIC RISING is great as well.

Arctic Rising was a very intelligent thriller. Good stuff. Review will be coming soon.


Yeah, it was Caine's Law that finally spurred me to read BOT. Of course I still need to read the third book before I get to Caine's Law.

[Abyss]

kcf, on 03 April 2012 - 09:28 PM, said:

...Yeah, it was Caine's Law that finally spurred me to read BOT. Of course I still need to fucking read the third book before I get to Caine's Law.
Fuck.

Fixed. Caine'd.

[End of Disc One]

Abyss, on 03 April 2012 - 09:03 PM, said:

Library'd NAKED CITY anthology for the Dresden story CURSES.

Wait what? How did I miss this?

[Chance]

Going through Tears of the Sun most recent installment in SM Stirlings change series, as always good and I'm begining to wonder if it ain't going to morph from more or less survivor apocalyps into a true fantasy series with magic and all. Interesting it is either way.

[JPK]

Just finished Heir of Novron. I love Sullivan's battle scenes

Spoiler

and I'm dying to see him write more on a battlefield scale. The scenes of the elves attacking Aquesta were jaw-dropping.

Now it is finally time for a coCaine fix. That's right people, I'm starting Caine's FUCKING Law. Holding onto the seat of my pants.

[Use Of Weapons]

Just started Jacqueline Carey's _Kushiel's Dart_. I love the slightly distant, elegant style, though it might be a bit much if the whole novel is like that. But we're currently covering lots of backstory, and the first person narrative makes it all much more immediate than it would be if the style were also in 3rd person. Thoroughly enjoyable, thoroughly adult themes. Great fun so far, and the hints of magic are tantalising.

[QuickTidal]

Finished TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG by Connie Willis, and enjoyed it quite a bit. Quite amusing throughout with a really nice mystery and some great twists.

Having put it down to read the latest STAR WARS book, I am now fully back into THE TEN THOUSAND by Paul Kearney (seeing as the 3rd book in that series just dropped).

[McLovin]

Finished THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN, now onto Peter Watts BLINDSIGHT. WTF right off the bat, I like it.

[a Reindeer]

Hmm. I've yet to read any of Stover's non-Star Wars books, but judging from this thread, I'm missing out.

Currently, I'm reading Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, which is really, really good. In much the same way that I would call Erikson, Donaldson, and Wolfe the lords of modern fantasy, I think Dostoevsky is one of the best authors of "classic" literature. His insight into human nature is boggling.

[Dr Trouble]

Currently on The Chronicles of Amber for the first time.

It's alright so far. I found it a bit strange when Corwin started macking on his great-great-great-great-great etc- niece, only to justify it later by saying she's too far removed for him to feel bad ...

Hrmmmmmm

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

The Brothers Karamazov is up there as one of my favourite all time reads and I wish he had been able to write the main novel. I should pick that up again sometime soon.

The Amber novels are somewhat dated, but at the time they were pushing the boundaries of the fantasy genre. It's been years since I read them (and probably 25 years since I first read them). They were the series that turned me on to fantasy so I will always say that they are great books.

I recently finished Wise Man's Fear and wasn't all that impressed. Without going into detail, much of the story seemed to drag on and at this point I have no interest in reading any further about the romantic yearnings. Actually, after rereading the first book beforehand I was already tired of the way the romantic aspect was handled before picking this one up. I followed it up with Cook's Guilded Latten Bones and am starting to think that the the Garret P.I. books are as addictive as Dresden. Since I've missed everything between the first omnibus and that one, I will be back scouring the used bookstores in coming weeks.

Currently, I have started a reread of The Elysium Commission because I can't remember whether this is one of the sci-fi books Modessit nails or if it is one of the poorer ones (I know it is better than the Soprano Sorcerous books or it would have been binned).

This post has been edited by Gwynn ap Nudd: 06 April 2012 - 06:04 AM

[Salt-Man Z]

I read the Amber books for the first time a few years ago, and they didn't really feel dated at all to me, except for the fact that everybody chain smokes in them.

[McLovin]

Finished WHITE NIGHT. Not in the league of books 6-7, but a worthy continuation of the franchise. I did not see

Spoiler

Lasciel's demise

coming, but I thought that was a clever way to handle it. Also loved

Spoiler

Toe-moss the hairstylist.

Genius.

Think I might set down BLINDSIGHT in favor of Rachel Maddow's DRIFT, because I saw her on Jon Stewart, downloaded the sample prologue, and am quite intrigued. I also did not know she had a PhD from Oxford - wow.

[Tapper]

Just finished Caine's Law.
One of a fucking kind. Amazing. I don't think I'll touch much fiction for the remainder of the month, because it can't stand up to what Stover did. So it's going to be either Russia by Martin Sixsmith, Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire or Tom Holland's The forge of Christendom.

[Aimless]

The Mistborn trilogy!

I finally got around to reading it, and I couldn't put the books down. Was up until like 4-5 AM reading. I'd expected Sanderson to be a little cheesy, a little ham-handed, bit too dorky, bit too melodramatic... and I'd expected a flat and messy story with too much emphasis on cool magic. RPG-nerd's wish-fulfilment story.

I did not expect a well-crafted and thoroughly character-driven fantasy-mystery-thriller. These are some of the most lovingly portrayed characters I've seen in fantasy. The story is layered and complex--in a good way--and masterfully told. Sanderson plays fair and rewards attentive readers. I loved the way he played with foreshadowing and expectations. There was one specific secret I'd begun to sniff around somewhere in the second book, and the way he handled that secret--from the first hints early in the first book to its revelation in the third book--was so. Good.

While the plot and the world are great, these books are all about the characters, conflicts and Deep Truths. I was impressed with how real and natural his protagonists felt, despite the rapid and profound development they all underwent. As for his antagonists, The Lord Ruler and Ruin are two of the most satisfying antagonists I've encountered in fantasy. I was glad to see Sanderson do them both justice.

I was a little surprised to learn about Sanderson's religious background, but only a little. His background shows, but he handles these things better than eg. CS. Lewis did. In telling the story of the struggle between Ruin and his adversary--and of that adversary's desperate long con--Sanderson displays depth and maturity of a sort that's rare in the genre. This coming from an extremely undevout atheist

You know what? I finally get why Sanderson should finish WoT. It makes sense, and it makes me happy.

[Use Of Weapons]

Finished Jacqueline Carey's _Kushiel's Dart_.

Wow. What a fantastic novel. And a debut! Just stunning, lovely writing, memorable characters written with an aching penetration and understanding of human relationships and motivations. Can't wait to find the sequels. Was up until 4am last night reading it, and polished it off as soon as I could today. Wholeheartedly recommended -- but fair warning, it's not for the prudish! A triumph.

[a Reindeer]

Aimless, I highly recommend Branderson's other books--each separate world that he writes has a unique magic system, and they can be very fascinating. I still love Allomancy and Hemalurgy the most, but some of his other ones are equally innovative. For quick reads, Elantris and Warbreaker are each standalones, and both are shorter than Mistborn: the Final Empire, so they should not take you long. After those, you should read The Way of Kings, which as you might know is the first book released out of the planned ten in his The Stormlight Archives. It has wonderful worldbuilding and characterization, or at least on par with Mistborn, but with the added prospect of MORE. Branderson might not be the darkest, deepest, or greatest author, but he is both creative and driven, so we get the promise of something new and interesting on a fairly frequent basis with him.

So, yeah. If you liked Mistborn, I recommend that you read The Way of Kings ASAP.

UseOfWeapons, I've not read Carey's books yet, but I do have a bit of knowledge about what they're about, and honestly at least from the initial glance it seems as though she wrote them with an agenda (as an intentional counterpoint to the prudish nature of most Western fiction). How well does she weave that into her books, if she truly does have an agenda along those lines? I can see from your "Interests" that you're likely to agree with her on those points, but objectively, does she do a good job combining narrative and agenda? Or does she hit you over the head with it the way Phillip Pullman did in His Dark Materials?

This post has been edited by a Reindeer: 07 April 2012 - 04:28 PM

[QuickTidal]

Finally getting around to reading James Clavell's SHOGUN, which I've always wanted to read.

[Use Of Weapons]

a Reindeer, on 07 April 2012 - 04:27 PM, said:

UseOfWeapons, I've not read Carey's books yet, but I do have a bit of knowledge about what they're about, and honestly at least from the initial glance it seems as though she wrote them with an agenda (as an intentional counterpoint to the prudish nature of most Western fiction). How well does she weave that into her books, if she truly does have an agenda along those lines? I can see from your "Interests" that you're likely to agree with her on those points, but objectively, does she do a good job combining narrative and agenda? Or does she hit you over the head with it the way Phillip Pullman did in His Dark Materials?

If she has an agenda, in my opinion (knowing nothing about the books before beginning _Kushiel's Dart_) it was entirely subordinate to the plot and the characters. Honestly, every bit of sexual action served a purpose, which is more than you can say for much other fantasy, let alone those with a 'message.' Given the world-building premise that is stated at the beginning of the narrative, everything flows from it in a natural, entirely un-selfconscious way. And while I admit that there were times when the sexual scenes made for uncomfortable reading, they were always and unfailingly riveting. Not to mention exquisitely written -- Carey will never be nominated for the "Bad Sex in Fiction" award, I can state that with the utmost confidence.

And further, if your metric for characterisation is whether you cry when characters cry, laugh when they laugh, and live when they live, then novel has characterisation by the bucket.

So, in sum: don't read it if you want your next fantasy fix to be comforting. But if you feel like a challenge, it will deliver.

On a wider point: writing with an agenda can still be enjoyed if the author is skilled enough. Look at, for example, Ursula Le Guin, Sheri S Tepper, Carl Sagan.

[worry]

UseOfWeapons, on 07 April 2012 - 03:40 PM, said:

Finished Jacqueline Carey's _Kushiel's Dart_.

Wow. What a fantastic novel. And a debut! Just stunning, lovely writing, memorable characters written with an aching penetration and understanding of human relationships and motivations. Can't wait to find the sequels. Was up until 4am last night reading it, and polished it off as soon as I could today. Wholeheartedly recommended -- but fair warning, it's not for the prudish! A triumph.

I've seen this book/series everywhere, and had one recommendation on this from someone who doesn't necessarily read much fantasy, so I'm glad to hear a second glowing review. Gonna add it to the TRP.