[Valgard]

Reading Shogun by James Clavell. Really enjoying it a great book absolutely riveting also huge so lots more to read about yey!!!!!!!

[Demon X]

Reading "Persian Fire" (the first world empire and the battle for the west) by Tom Holland.

A very interesting book on the history of the Persian Empire from it's birth to its decline!

It's amazing how - with all our tecnology and our advances humans are still the same!

[Murrin]

Polyphony 5, the anthology from Wheatland Press edited by Jay Lake and Deborah Layne. A lot of good stories in there.

[McLovin]

I'm in a major book funk now - nothing new appeals to me. So I've returned to my old friend, Horatio Hornblower:

CS Forester - Beat to Quarters

[Satan]

Hee hee hee! I'm rereading wheel of time. That first book. Can't remember what it was called right now. You know, it isn't all that bad, this first book. It's all crap from the third (or fourth?) book out, but I seem to remember enjoying at least the two first ones. Or at least not hating them.

[Hume]

speaking of the wheel of time..

The 11th book finally came out in paperback..
I swore after book 10 that paying that extra money for the trade-paperback has no justification... And now book 11 is finally on paperback ..
should I wait even longer till I see the paperbacks on a used bookstore before buying them.
And oh.. I am going to finish this series.. I've invested way too much time of my life to not finish it now.
If only I had given up at book 3

[Sir Thursday]

First book is The Eye of the World...personally I thought the first 6 were pretty good...and then it all went pear-shaped...

Currently 1/2 way through Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. I've not been reading very much recently, which is strange, normally I'd have finished my book pile by now. I've got Jack Vance's first two Lyonesse books lined up, along with Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys.

Sir Thursday

EDIT: I made the mistake of believing the hype that Knife of Dreams was a return to the old Jordan...I was wrong. Better certainly, but at the expense of any suspense whatsoever.

[Hume]

Yeh I have read the first 10 (Wot) Vox..
The last 3-4 should have been condensed to 1 book.
None of that Shawl shifting crap.

Oh and I got Chronicles of Amber unread on my shelf ..
Lemme know what its like you finish it..

And Im about in my 11 chapter of Latro in the Mist - Gene Wolfe.

[Kallor]

lmao @ 'shawl shifting crap' ... too true, but alas, i also will finish the series because of the time invested so far ...

[Murrin]

I downloaded Knife of Dreams and read it on my computer, but couldn't stop myself from buying the paperback: I bought the first ten, I needed to have the full set.
Knife of Dreams was different, certainly. New Spring had left me hoping for better things, but in Knife of Dreams, while it certainly moved along quickly, the major events happened too quickly, and had no impact.
I will give it this much: for the first time in the entire series, I looked forward to chapters from Egwene's PoV. She suddenly became less annoying in this one. But one set of PoV chapters (plus Mat's, which, other than in CoT, are always interesting to some degree) is not enough to redeem the whole book.

[Astra]

HUME;109928 said:

Yeh I have read the first 10 (Wot) Vox..
The last 3-4 should have been condensed to 1 book.
None of that Shawl shifting crap.

Oh and I got Chronicles of Amber unread on my shelf ..
Lemme know what its like you finish it..

And Im about in my 11 chapter of Latro in the Mist - Gene Wolfe.

I have read The Great Book of Amber exactly one year ago. I absolutely loved it. Very interesting series. No regrets for reading it. One of the best fantasy works I have read so far.

[Sir Thursday]

Murrin;109987 said:

I downloaded Knife of Dreams and read it on my computer, but couldn't stop myself from buying the paperback: I bought the first ten, I needed to have the full set.
Knife of Dreams was different, certainly. New Spring had left me hoping for better things, but in Knife of Dreams, while it certainly moved along quickly, the major events happened too quickly, and had no impact.
I will give it this much: for the first time in the entire series, I looked forward to chapters from Egwene's PoV. She suddenly became less annoying in this one. But one set of PoV chapters (plus Mat's, which, other than in CoT, are always interesting to some degree) is not enough to redeem the whole book.

I agree with you completely on that score - there was one scene in particular that I found particularly annoying in terms of the amount that RJ condensed it:

Spoiler

When Rand is ambushed by Semirhage. The scene was over in a couple of paragraphs and Semirhage seemed way too easy after all the build up she's had. Granted, she gets Rand's arm off but compare her fight with that of Rahvin in book 5 (I think it was, possibly 6) and you realise just how poor it was.

I like the fact that Jordan has got his brain in gear and actually written one that continues the story...but he has veered from too much unnecessary detail to not enough.

Sir Thursday

[McLovin]

Sir Thursday;110007 said:

Spoiler

...Granted, she gets Rand's arm off...

:eek: Say WHAT?! After vowing to never read another word of WoT, that alone may have made me curious enough to pick KoD up! Though seriously, what's the deal with epic fantasy and

Spoiler

the lopping off of limbs? And was there lava nearby, where she could fall in screaming "Preciousssss!" or yell at Rand, "YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!!!!"

[Illuyankas]

Come on, as if Rand needed MORE to angst about

Spoiler

"I'm mortally afraid of small enclosed spaces that are full of women on fire!"
"You were meant to bring balance to the Source, not- oh, you did. Never mind then."

The scene from A Memory Of Light that I'm waiting for is when (READ BOOK 11 FIRST)

Spoiler

Mat tells everyone how easy it'll be to arrange an alliance with the Seanchan, particularly the whole married part That'll probably be the 'laugh' moment for Rand, with Moiraine (you knew she wasn't going to be dead, admit it) as the 'cry' bit.

I might go over and have a look at the Jordan thread in the Other Fantasy forum, seeing as I reread Knife Of Dreams recently.

[pat5150]

Hi guys!

As a recent Malazan convert, I was eager to sink my teeth into Ian Cameron Esslemont's Night of Knives, his first novel set in the universe he created with Steven Erikson.

Let it be said that Esslemont certainly selected the perfect setting for his first book. By choosing to recount the tale of the night when Surly, the Imperial Regent, plans to assassinate the Emperor, Kellanved, and Dancer to seize the throne, well the author couldn't possibly go wrong. Of all the characters which Steven Erikson has introduced in his series thus far, Shadowthrone and Cotillion remain mysterious favorites to many people. Hence, an opportunity to witness what occurred on the night they ascended was extremely interesting.

A very satisfying read for any fan of The Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Check the blog for the full review. . .

Patrick
www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

[Sir Thursday]

HUME;109928 said:

Oh and I got Chronicles of Amber unread on my shelf ..
Lemme know what its like you finish it..

I really enjoyed the Chronicles of Amber (note: only 1-5). Memory loss is sometimes overused as a plot point, but I feel that Zelazny used it to perfection as a way to introduce the concept of Amber to his protagonist as much as the reader. There is backstabbing, intrigue and hardship, shades of grey characters (Corwin, through whose eyes we get the story, is not exactly the typical hero who can do no wrong) and some original ideas. Zelazny has done a great job of gradually revealing the true actions of the key players in his very complex game of politics, which is unmatched for deviousness in anything else I've read (yes, that does include A Song of Ice and Fire!). I would definately recommend this to you - read it as soon as possible!

One slight drawback is that because it was originally written as 5 separate volumes, he does tend to sum up previous events at the beginning of the next one, which can be a little annoying. And I suppose you could say that some of the characters, particularly at the beginning, are a little too trusting. But despite these points, it is still a superlative work of fantasy.

Sir Thursday

PS. I'll put this on the Other Fantasy board as well, it seems like it belongs there as well.

[Loki]

Saint Chains;110975 said:

Just about to start Don Quixote

Ah, in english or spanish