[Hinter]

Vince Flynn - The Last Man.

Can not be recommended in any way whatsoever. It is shite. However it is the last unread book in the house and I refuse to let this piece of juvenile, Lee Child wannabee, dull as fuck, turd-on-a-page nonsense beat me.

[Obdigore]

Abyss, on 17 July 2013 - 01:35 PM, said:

I can't read Hobb. I've tried, but something about her style just leaves me bored and annoyed within ten pages or less.

That's because you didn't read it as a teen. It appears that the people who like Hobb read it as a teenager and the people who don't, didn't. Doesn't that make them YA books?

[worry]

I read them in college or after (depending on release dates on Tawny Man for instance) and she's one of my faves in the biz. I don't think she's an acquired taste, necessarily, but I do think she has a dour sensibility that suits a narrower set of tastes. I don't mean narrow vs. broad, but rather a narrow section of the fantasy spectrum that your appetites either overlap or don't. For one thing, very little humor in any of her series, and certainly nothing that even approaches comic relief.

[worry]

Oh and I started Perdido Street Station. I thought I was the only one with headlegs!

[birthSqueeze]

Briar King, on 17 July 2013 - 11:19 AM, said:

birthSqueeze, on 17 July 2013 - 05:23 AM, said:

Been reading The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb and loving it! Almost as much as I loved Liveship Traders.

You read them wrong then lol.

My conclusion is only half formed, but certainly there is room for discussion if you're up for it lol. Some of the comments on here about Robin Hobb do interest me.... A lot of good fantasy authors mention liking Robin Hobb in interviews such as Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Mark Lawrence, and Steven Erickson. I've been reading fantasy for a few years so don't really consider myself new to the genre, but I really like what I've read from her so far. The Farseer trilogy might not have a super complex plot and stylistically it's simple, but she is the best character writer I've seen. And the way she handled character relationships really blew me away in Liveship Traders. Both trilogies are two of the best!

[worry]

I think he just meant you read them in the wrong order (it goes Farseer, Liveship, Tawny Man, Rain Wilds).

[amphibian]

worry, on 18 July 2013 - 05:33 AM, said:

Oh and I started Perdido Street Station. I thought I was the only one with headlegs!

You would get along so swimmingly on dreamshit, if it were real. Me too.

[QuickTidal]

Finished JK Rowling's Detective/mystery THE CUCKOO'S CALLING.

Wonderful stuff. Easy prose, with a solid pace a likable protagonist and a great assistant character. Clever and keeps you guessing.

Nothing mind-blowing, but then her first HP book was only half decent and the series ramped up as it went.

I understand why people are praising it, in the glut of mysteries out there it stands above for the sheer charm. It doesn't try to be too dark, and yet doesn't shy away from the harder to look at stuff. Lots of comic relief, and a look at swanky London from the outside in. Think PD James without the gruesome bits. Very Alexander Mcaul-ish.

This could easily be the start of a new and very successful series for her. Both main characters (Detective Cormoran Strike and assistant Robin Elliacott) are defo series material. Lots of room for growth.

Good stuff.

Onto the next Iggulden Casar book DEATH OF KINGS next or maybe Anthony Ryan's BLOOD SONG.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 18 July 2013 - 01:56 PM

[Serenity]

Finished The Thousand Names by Django Wexler. Below average, imo. Bland, flat characters, bland, flat battle scenes, plot twists that were predictable ages before they happened. Didn't like it at all.

[Salt-Man Z]

Obdigore, on 18 July 2013 - 05:04 AM, said:

Abyss, on 17 July 2013 - 01:35 PM, said:

I can't read Hobb. I've tried, but something about her style just leaves me bored and annoyed within ten pages or less.

That's because you didn't read it as a teen. It appears that the people who like Hobb read it as a teenager and the people who don't, didn't. Doesn't that make them YA books?

The first (and currently only) Hobb I've read was Liveship Traders, at (heads to LibraryThing to look it up) 28 years old. Loved it. Her writing actually reminded me a lot of Donaldson; his GAP Cycle in particular. I found it to be pretty dense and mature stuff; wouldn't call it YA in a million years. Farseer could be a different animal, though; I haven't gotten around to that one yet.

[Salt-Man Z]

Ex-Communication is awesome. Clines is tying threads back into the first two books, which is awesome; I need to pull those out and check how things match up.

Also got an email saying King of Thorns is ready to pick up at the library. Woot!

[polishgenius]

Salt-Man Z, on 18 July 2013 - 03:40 PM, said:

Also got an email saying King of Thorns is ready to pick up at the library. Woot!

I thought that said Emperor for a second and was about to go into a jealous brain-stealing rage.

[Abyss]

Salt-Man Z, on 18 July 2013 - 03:40 PM, said:

Ex-Communication is awesome. Clines is tying threads back into the first two books, which is awesome; I need to pull those out and check how things match up....

I've been doing it on the fly. Pretty impressive plot lines, tho the real strength is the characters.

[polishgenius]

I'm reading this one obscure little title, Caine's Law?

It's already much better than Caine Black Knife but also makes that book more satisfying in context. It's like that's the plinth, and this is the statue.

[birthSqueeze]

Hinter, on 18 July 2013 - 03:45 AM, said:

Vince Flynn - The Last Man.

Can not be recommended in any way whatsoever. It is shite. However it is the last unread book in the house and I refuse to let this piece of juvenile, Lee Child wannabee, dull as fuck, turd-on-a-page nonsense beat me.

I completely agree. The conclusion is so obvious right from the first chapter, but yet they treat the terrorist attack like it's some mystery. Wait it happened this way...... no it happened that wait.... wait a minute..... it happened the way we originally thought. This kind of plotting is awful. I used to enjoy this type of garbage, but since discovering good authors such as Steven Erickson, Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, and Paul Kearney not anymore.

[birthSqueeze]

Briar King, on 18 July 2013 - 06:32 PM, said:

worry, on 18 July 2013 - 07:04 AM, said:

I think he just meant you read them in the wrong order (it goes Farseer, Liveship, Tawny Man, Rain Wilds).

Bingo.

Looks like Salt read em out a wack to.

I apologize for the misunderstanding. I don't think there's anything wrong with reading Liveship Traders before Farseer. They're both set in different places and follow plot lines that are completely separate. There is some reference to Bingtown and the Rainwilds in Farseer, but I don't think reading them in a slightly skewed order hurt my enjoyment of either series. If someone read Tawney Man before Farseer I would agree with you because if I'm not mistake that series also follows Fitz.

[worry]

birthSqueeze, on 18 July 2013 - 09:48 PM, said:

They're both set in different places and follow plot lines that are completely separate.

A common misconception! But any explanation would necessarily include spoilers, so I'll avoid, except to say that Farseer/Liveship/Tawny Man actually tells one long story, chronologically. It does make me curious if flipping the first two trilogies winds up with the same basic effect....you are right that it's most vital that the Tawny Man trilogy comes third, regardless of how you go about the first two.

[Salt-Man Z]

I barely remember half the books I read last year, so by the time I get around to Farseer, I should be fine.

[polishgenius]

I skipped straight from Farseer to Tawny and thought it was mostly brilliant (though both series suffer from massive chunks where they just travel for ages and nothing interesting happens along the way). Tried to read Liveship later on and didn't get very far at all.

birthSqueeze, on 18 July 2013 - 09:44 PM, said:

Steven Erickson

Man I do wish people who profess to be fans would spell his name right.

Unless you actually mean Steve Erickson, in which case my apologies.

[Salt-Man Z]

Stephen Eriksen