[Baco Xtath]

polishgenius, on 05 June 2013 - 10:04 PM, said:

I just finished a book called Turbulence, by Samit Basu. It's a superhero novel by a fella from India, and it's basically perfect and all of you should read it right now. Like seriously guys. It's like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman got together but wrote a subcontinent-set superhero book instead of Good Omens. I loved it.

You are personally responsible for at least a third of my TRP. Damnit. I'm never going to catch up.

[James Hutton]

Finished WORLD WAR Z by Max Brooks (now realising there's a movie about too...) -- good one! It's a short stories collection desribing the response to a global outbreak of a zombie affliction. The short story format worked very well!

Started THUNDERER by Felix Gilman, as recommended by someone somewhere on this board

[polishgenius]

Baco Xtath, on 06 June 2013 - 12:09 AM, said:

You are personally responsible for at least a third of my TRP. Damnit. I'm never going to catch up.

I'd say I'm very sorry, but that would be a lie.

[Ukjent]

Done with Promise of Blood and I absolutely loved it. And now over to Dresden again,

[Tiste Simeon]

James Hutton, on 06 June 2013 - 09:00 AM, said:

Finished WORLD WAR Z by Max Brooks (now realising there's a movie about too...) -- good one! It's a short stories collection desribing the response to a global outbreak of a zombie affliction. The short story format worked very well!

Started THUNDERER by Felix Gilman, as recommended by someone somewhere on this board

WWZ is one of the best books I have ever read... Scared the pants off me at some points but what a book. Not too sure how the movie is going to turn out but I stillwant to see it!

[JPK]

So, I've finished off The Dragon's Path by Abraham and White Gold Wielder by Donaldson. Chewed through both of these quickly and it just further cemented Abraham as one of my favorites. I'm now 150pgs into Shadow of the Torturer. I''ve got the Shadow & Claw omnibus so I'll be digging right into The Claw of the Conciliator without a pause. After that it's on to The Runes of the Earth. Really really glad that I'm past the halfway point for the Covenant books.

[Mentalist]

Puck, on 05 June 2013 - 04:36 PM, said:

Tapper, on 05 June 2013 - 03:04 PM, said:

Finished Sapkowski's Blood of Elves, first book in the Witcher series (and only one of the two official translations, after that it's apparently fan's labour only). Good read, although it does drop you off into the story with a whole lot unexplained. The ending is equally abrupt. The in-between bits are very nice, however, although the PoV-switches betray fairly little of different characters. It's quite recognizable as a translation, but a pretty nice read nonetheless.

That's because it's actually the third book *sigh* Technically, Blood of Elves IS the first book of a series, but it is preceded by two short story collections, only the first of which has been officially translated. The second, though, which contains crucial stories that precede and directly influence the story of the main series, have been, for some unfathomable reason, left untranslated.. Blood of Elves follows directly after the last story in the second collection.

"Sword of Destiny" (the second short story collection) wasn't published in the West, because apparently, at some point in history, one of those stories was already published somewhere, by someone, and this publisher holds the copyright and refuses to budge. Which is problematic, since the collection gives a lot of background to the relationship between Geralt&Yennifer (which was really only hinted at in "The last Wish--the short story", and introduces the other key character of the novels-series. "Blood of the Elves" is actually a direct sequel to the last story in "The Sword of Destiny".

As for myself, I've finished Volume 1 of "Les Miserables". It's a good book, though I've only now discovered it had endnotes. this would've been helpful knowledge earlier, since it' would've helped immensely whenever Hugo starts tossing names of politicians/artists/nobles/generals/random Parisians of the period at the reader--and given the intended epic scope of the work, this happens a lot. I almost feel I may need to re-read this whilst following endnotes, to make sure I don't just gloss over those parts.

Not sure what to read now. I've got more Mayne Reid, "Chasm city", that Ann Lyle book I've had sitting in the pile, a bunch of history books.... and I was also planning to give Janny Wurts' "Wars of Light and shadow" series another crack (I read the first 2 last time, I think. Got sidetracked after "Ships of Merior".

So many choices, but none of them feel like a "must read". I could also just keep going with volume 2 of "Les Mis", I suppose.

[Abyss]

Baco Xtath, on 06 June 2013 - 12:09 AM, said:

polishgenius, on 05 June 2013 - 10:04 PM, said:

I just finished a book called Turbulence, by Samit Basu. It's a superhero novel by a fella from India, and it's basically perfect and all of you should read it right now. Like seriously guys. It's like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman got together but wrote a subcontinent-set superhero book instead of Good Omens. I loved it.

You are personally responsible for at least a third of my TRP. Damnit. I'm never going to catch up.

You hold him down. I'll perform the lobotomy.

[Tiste Simeon]

Briar King, on 06 June 2013 - 09:29 PM, said:

Tiste I heard that the movie just shares the title and zombies but not much else. I could be wrong though but I know I've heard bitching about that.

Yeah that's what I heard. Sounds like he made the narrator some kind of action hero chasing around the world & killing zombies. I have been trying to avoid hearing anything about it and I will still go and see it but it's a bit annoying...

[Salt-Man Z]

Tiste Simeon, on 07 June 2013 - 08:02 AM, said:

Briar King, on 06 June 2013 - 09:29 PM, said:

Tiste I heard that the movie just shares the title and zombies but not much else. I could be wrong though but I know I've heard bitching about that.

Yeah that's what I heard. Sounds like he made the narrator some kind of action hero chasing around the world & killing zombies. I have been trying to avoid hearing anything about it and I will still go and see it but it's a bit annoying...

I seem to remember hearing that the movie was originally filmed as being less action-y, but test audiences responded poorly to it, so they went back added a bunch of action. Bleh.

[James Hutton]

Salt-Man Z, on 07 June 2013 - 03:26 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 07 June 2013 - 08:02 AM, said:

Briar King, on 06 June 2013 - 09:29 PM, said:

Tiste I heard that the movie just shares the title and zombies but not much else. I could be wrong though but I know I've heard bitching about that.

Yeah that's what I heard. Sounds like he made the narrator some kind of action hero chasing around the world & killing zombies. I have been trying to avoid hearing anything about it and I will still go and see it but it's a bit annoying...

I seem to remember hearing that the movie was originally filmed as being less action-y, but test audiences responded poorly to it, so they went back added a bunch of action. Bleh.

Ok, good to know. No need to see it then

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

113. Kimmie66 graphic novel by Aaron Alexovich - Cyberpunkish story about a teen girl in the future who investigates her best friend's suicide and then subsequent reappearance on the 23rd century version of the 'net, which is essentially a VR world. Good grief, that's a terribly worded sentence I just wrote, but I'm too lazy to change it.

114. Green by Jay Lake - About an orphaned girl (sort of) turned assassin (sort of). This one was a mixed bag. I enjoyed the beginning, the middle dragged, picked up near the end, but then the ending was strange. I'll read the sequel, since I already found it as a bargain book, but this one didn't strike me as something I'd ever reread.

115. The Goats by Brock Cole - A couple of kids at summer camp are hazed by being stripped naked and dumped off on a nearby island. They decide to teach their bullies (and the oblivious adults) a lesson by staying gone.

116. The Dimension Next Door edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes - Yet another mediocre DAW anthology. One of these days, I'll stumble upon a good one again...

117. Spirit Gate by Kate Elliott - Just what the doctor ordered. A complex world with lots of characters and a story that goes in unforeseen directions. I'll definitely be reading the whole trilogy.

[worry]

Finished Alera Book 4, same basic opinion as I had with Book 3, so I won't repeat myself. Now starting American Elsewhere.

[Morgoth]

So I'm readin Rubicon by Tom Holland after having quite enjoyed Persian Fire by the same author.

So far, what I'm learning from the book is that Rome as a society was evil. Not as in mean, or cruel or whatever. Evil.

If I were to design an evil fantasy empire (which I wont, mind) I would have constructed it much the way Holland paints Roman society.

[Tapper]

Morgoth, on 10 June 2013 - 06:23 AM, said:

So I'm readin Rubicon by Tom Holland after having quite enjoyed Persian Fire by the same author.

So far, what I'm learning from the book is that Rome as a society was evil. Not as in mean, or cruel or whatever. Evil.

If I were to design an evil fantasy empire (which I wont, mind) I would have constructed it much the way Holland paints Roman society.

They're both very nice books - in completely different ways.

[Morgoth]

Yeah, the difference seems to be access to primary sources, which is all Holland has chosen to use as far as I can tell.

Writing about the Persian empire leaves little in the way of sources aside from Herodotus, whom was not the most reliable of men. The Roman empire, on the other hand, provides such a pletora of sources it creates an entirely different - and in my opinion - more interesting book.

[Serenity]

Finished The Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge. 'Twas okay, but not a patch on A Fire Upon the Deep. Then read and finally finished (second attempt) Heroes Die. Again, 'twas okay but didn't make me want to download BoT immediately. For a complete change of pace, now reading Hilary Mantel's sequel to Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies.

[QuickTidal]

Finished up with ABBADON'S GATE by Corey. Solid, solid stuff throughout...If getting a bit existential at certain moments, it was nonetheless enthralling throughout. Some interesting twists and turns and the like. I also thought this was the last volume in the series (as it was originally touted as a trilogy), but it does SEEM like there is a lot more to be explored.

Only time will tell. I do recall Abraham talking about "Book 4" on twitter...so maybe it's going to continue?

Anyways, having stopped reading it halfway through (after having been thrown by a few things and not "feeling" it), I've re-started FORGE OF DARKNESS with the intention of getting through it this time. It's funny how even having read the first half when I bought it once, I'm already on more solid footing re-reading the beginning.

[Salt-Man Z]

Read some short stories over the weekend.

On Friday I picked up Stories, an anthology edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio. It had just hit my radar a couple weeks ago; I discovered it through LibraryThing I think, while poking around looking for Gene Wolfe stuff. When I found out that not only did it have stories by Wolfe and Moorcock, but also one by my first favorite author, Richard Adams, I knew I had to get it. I read Adams' "The Knife" on Friday; it's only two and a half pages (if you're feeling charitable) but I enjoyed it. Wolfe's "Leif in the Wind" blew me away though. Easily one of my favorites of his (many) shorts.

Yesterday I read two of Karen Traviss' Darth Vader short stories, found in the back of my Star Wars: Betrayal mass market: "In His Image" and "Two-Edged Sword" were both very good, giving a great look at the relationships between Vader and Palpatine, as well as Vader and his soldiers. Highly recommended. I've still got a handful of Traviss' SW books I have yet to read; I need to get to those sooner than later. She's so good.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 10 June 2013 - 02:57 PM

[stone monkey]

Morgoth, on 10 June 2013 - 06:23 AM, said:

So I'm readin Rubicon by Tom Holland after having quite enjoyed Persian Fire by the same author.

So far, what I'm learning from the book is that Rome as a society was evil. Not as in mean, or cruel or whatever. Evil.

If I were to design an evil fantasy empire (which I wont, mind) I would have constructed it much the way Holland paints Roman society.

tbh I'm not sure so much that the Romans necessarily were evil. They certainly wouldn't have thought so. Although they do look it from our perspective.I think it's more that their moral code, which they made much of, makes them essentially aliens to our way of thinking. Although, given a millenium of perspective, how would a future society regard our morals, behaviour and cultural obsessions?

Glad to see that you're enjoying Rubicon, it is a book that certainly opens your eyes about a few things. The picture Holland paints of Roman society is both fascinating and appalling in equal measure, I think.

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 10 June 2013 - 06:49 PM