[JPK]

Finished off Woken Furies tonight. Taking in a reread of Caine's Law and starting to play a little with A Betrayal in Winter as well. Starting to feel really anxious for Caliban's War though. Less than a month left!

[rhulad]

On to "Small Favor" by Jim Butcher.

[McLovin]

Didn't feel like continuing Feist and can't bear to read the last dresdencrack on the TRP, so went with DRUID OF SHANNARA.

[polishgenius]

China Mieville's Railsea. Woo.

[Ulrik]

I ll go for Sharpe... should I begin with chronological order or publishing order?

[QuickTidal]

Ulrik, on 26 May 2012 - 08:00 PM, said:

I ll go for Sharpe... should I begin with chronological order or publishing order?

Depends, I dig Chrono-order just cause I wanted to see Sharpe from his earliest...but you could just as easily enjoy publishing order.

[Mentalist]

Finished the lastt book in the Gap Cycle. It was fantastic. Easily one of the best Sci-fi i've ever read.

I'm seriosly considering I need to give THomas Covenant another shot, even though I barely made it through the first trilogy last time, from a second attempt.
meanwhile, I will try to stop indulging a streak of great books (I have Asher's Orbus and the last City of Light and Shadows books on the TRP, and i'll give another shot to Tom Lloyd's Twilight Reign series, since I happen to have 3 books of it. I've read 2, and I was fairl dissapointed with how Book 2 was written, but then at some sale I picked up book 3. I recall there being some general overall ideas, and i've spoilered myself by blurb-reading to somehtign that happened in book 3, so I wanna give this another shot.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 27 May 2012 - 04:05 AM

[Dutch]

Just finished the rollercoaster ride that is the Black Company.

It ain't Malazan, bit I loved every bit of the books.

Wondering what to read now. Think of might be time for some non fantasy.

This post has been edited by Dutch: 27 May 2012 - 04:54 PM

[Nocturnal]

Re-reading John Dies at the End, such an odd book.
Finished The Alchemist a while ago... I seriously think this book is overrated.

[Salt-Man Z]

Mentalist, on 27 May 2012 - 04:03 AM, said:

Finished the lastt book in the Gap Cycle. It was fantastic. Easily one of the best Sci-fi i've ever read.

I'm seriosly considering I need to give THomas Covenant another shot, even though I barely made it through the first trilogy last time, from a second attempt.

Have you read his Mordant's Need duology? It's not quite GAP-level, but it's pretty close. Also awesome.

[JPK]

Mentalist, on 27 May 2012 - 04:03 AM, said:

Finished the lastt book in the Gap Cycle. It was fantastic. Easily one of the best Sci-fi i've ever read.

I'm seriosly considering I need to give THomas Covenant another shot, even though I barely made it through the first trilogy last time, from a second attempt.

I found the Second Chronicles a much stronger read than the first. I'm actually thinking of rereading that series again soon, myself.

[QuickTidal]

Being about halfway through THE SILMARILLION I am still wholly entertained, though I can see where some folk would find it complex. Beginning at the Valequenta section which is basically a long, dramatis personae of the gods, and the early chapters that concern a lot of metaphor...and then later there is Chapter 14 (OF THE LANDS OF BELERIAND) which is, for all intents and purposes, a MAP of the lands of Northern Middle-Earth as TOLD out loud by the elves. Yeah, so it's a MAP...being read (...and on the far side of the river Gelion was Thogothron and Dor Whatshisnuts where So-And-So dwelt) and CAN come across as both difficult and boring since the protagonists of the chapter are actually the rivers and there is no plot progression...BUT...what we can get from it is language, as in that chapter I learned Dor means Land or Kingdom, and so when Tolkien mentions places like Doriath I know that is the land of the fence (since we know that's where Melian and Thingol and the rest of the Sindar dwell). It's boring but it serves a purpose. Everything else since the Elves showed up and the Men showed up has been total cream and I've been enthralled, from Fëanor's oath onwards things just get awesome!

I'm still listening to the Professor Tolkien podcasts (as they go chapter by chapter), but once I got ahold of the majority of the names of gods and elves and locations and machinations (I think somewhere around the time the Fëanor takes the Noldor to leave the undying lands, chapter 8 perhaps?) I began to get totally sucked into the story and I started really reading ahead...a lot...so now as opposed to listening to the podcasts for each chapter explicitly before going on I am reading ahead as I may and listening to the podcasts whenever I am out and walking (be it with the dog, or just out shopping) I'm still getting the extra help and insight the 'casts give me, but I get to read ahead. And once it gets good, it gets REALLY good.


MODGOD NOTICE OF THREAD SPLIT: I'VE MOVED YOUR TOLKIEN DISCUSSION TO ITS OWN THREAD HERE

This post has been edited by Abyss: 28 May 2012 - 02:02 PM

[Abyss]

Finished Somers' THE ELECTRIC CHURCH.

This books has its flaws, but overall as a dystopic future sf shoot-em-up story it totally works. Fallible asshole of a protagonist but likeable. Diverse, interesting and imminently killable, supporting cast. Setting - crap future if you're not the 1% and corrupt evil cops shoot everyone in the headparts at will - isn't strikingly original but the way he sets it up is nicely done. Have the sequel DIGITAL PLAGUE standing by. Will likely read something else, then hit it.

Recommended if you need a dark actioner bulletfeste after a long run of fantasy books.


Also at long last finished Lee Martinez' MONSTER. This is basically an urban fantasy spoof book. The hero is a slacker who catches rogue cryptozoologicals (mythic beasties) because it's an easy job ( His girlfriend is a succubus he summoned from Hell as an alternative to dating... and he sort of regrets doing that). The other lead is a grocery stacker slacker girl who also happens to have a long history of weirdness. They meet when yetis invade a grocery store and she detonates one with his loaded baseball bat. Then they have to save the universe from an evil cat-lady who makes the best tea ever. Hilarity ensues.

ok, 'hilarity' is strong, in fact the middle of this book dragged to the point of tedium, but it picks up towards the end and does have a few great laughs along the way. There is one moment anyone who played the old tabletop ADND game wil get a laugh out of, and the book never takes itself too seriously. Plus there's a pissed off dragon stuck in the form of a cat and a sarcastic origami golem who is also a sixth-dimensional higher being.

I can't give this a huge reco, but i suspect most of you will enjoy it as a quick frivolous read.

I have RAVENSOUL, Barclay's seventh and final book in his Raven series, standing by.

[Serenity]

I'm about halfway through Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and loving every word of it

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 28 May 2012 - 02:13 PM, said:

Also at long last finished Lee Martinez' MONSTER. This is basically an urban fantasy spoof book. The hero is a slacker who catches rogue cryptozoologicals (mythic beasties) because it's an easy job ( His girlfriend is a succubus he summoned from Hell as an alternative to dating... and he sort of regrets doing that). The other lead is a grocery stacker slacker girl who also happens to have a long history of weirdness. They meet when yetis invade a grocery store and she detonates one with his loaded baseball bat. Then they have to save the universe from an evil cat-lady who makes the best tea ever. Hilarity ensues.

ok, 'hilarity' is strong, in fact the middle of this book dragged to the point of tedium, but it picks up towards the end and does have a few great laughs along the way. There is one moment anyone who played the old tabletop ADND game wil get a laugh out of, and the book never takes itself too seriously. Plus there's a pissed off dragon stuck in the form of a cat and a sarcastic origami golem who is also a sixth-dimensional higher being.

I can't give this a huge reco, but i suspect most of you will enjoy it as a quick frivolous read.

This is not a problem only in MONSTER, as I ran into the same issue with Martinez' other work. Great ideas, and some great execution, but intermingled with dragging sections.

[QuickTidal]

Serenity, on 28 May 2012 - 02:24 PM, said:

I'm about halfway through Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and loving every word of it

I had this lent to me by a friend YEARS ago and I've never read it, though he always maintains how good it is. I really ought to get around to it one of these days. Good to hear others liking it!

[Use Of Weapons]

Finished _Kushiel's Avatar_, and have gone straight out and bought the first book in the sequel 'Treason's Heir' trilogy, _Kushiel's Scion_.

[JPK]

Over the last few days I've finished off my reread of Caine's Law, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max, and World War Z by Max Brooks. Digging my heels into A Betrayal In Winter a little more seriously now, and have my eye on the first Elric book to follow it up.

[amphibian]

QuickTidal, on 28 May 2012 - 04:06 PM, said:

I had The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay lent to me by a friend YEARS ago and I've never read it, though he always maintains how good it is. I really ought to get around to it one of these days. Good to hear others liking it!

Very good book. However, The Yiddish Policeman's Union is a better written/more emotional book that got less acclaim due to being really effin' weird.

The Incredible Kitsu, on 28 May 2012 - 07:12 PM, said:

Over the last few days I've finished off my reread of Caine's Law, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max, and World War Z by Max Brooks. Digging my heels into A Betrayal In Winter a little more seriously now, and have my eye on the first Elric book to follow it up.

That's a pretty good list of books. If you're looking for more Max, he has more books out and they're also fairly good. I disagree very much with the large groups of Internet people who hate him enormously.

Have you read Richard Morgan's stuff? Or Alastair Reynolds? Or Daniel Abraham?

[Serenity]

amphibian, on 29 May 2012 - 03:41 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 28 May 2012 - 04:06 PM, said:

I had The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay lent to me by a friend YEARS ago and I've never read it, though he always maintains how good it is. I really ought to get around to it one of these days. Good to hear others liking it!

Very good book. However, The Yiddish Policeman's Union is a better written/more emotional book that got less acclaim due to being really effin' weird.

Oh, shall have to try that one then, as I'm enjoying K&C so much. Thanks for the tip