[polishgenius]

Slow Ben, on 04 September 2014 - 02:20 AM, said:

It's not like much else ive read. There's not really highs and lows or slow spots and dramatic climaxes/culminations. It's just steady and good.

Yeah, moreso than most series each book is definitely part of the whole more than it has an individual arc (think like episodes of the Wire over a season) so it needs a more patient approach than some, but I'm finding it worth it. It's definitely building to a big ol' climax, although not necessarily the one you'd expect from an epic fantasy, even in this day and age.


It's also a completely different beast to Long Price, which though it's no Malazan, is much more immediate (it needs to be, since despite the whole series being about the length of Storm of Swords it covers a fairly long time-span over the four books).

[Baco Xtath]

Reading Light by M. John Harrison. Only 50 pages in and still not sure how I feel about this one. Definitely weird. Also, 10% in Ash: A Secret History. Really liking this so far.

On the last third of Shift by Howey and I've gotta say I find the whole reasoning behind it rather silly. Shift spoiler:

Spoiler

"Oh, they could kill us, let's kill everyone including our own citizens before they have a chance." I just don't buy it, even if Kim Jong-un was behind it all.

Also listening to Kafka by the Shore; more Murakami goodness. And started Acceptance.

This post has been edited by Baco Xtath: 04 September 2014 - 11:47 AM

[Andorion]

Salt-Man Z, on 04 September 2014 - 04:23 AM, said:

Andorion, on 04 September 2014 - 03:20 AM, said:

I am starting the first book of Jeff Salyards, Scourge of the Betrayer. I am around 10 pages in. I was wondering though whether anyone here could basically certify the quality of these books? I can't seem to like this book so far. Its not th eplot or the characters. Way to early for those. Its the language and writing style. It bothers me . Seems kind of .........scratchy

I quite enjoyed the first two books. I think Salyards has a deft ear for dialogue/banter. The rest of his prose didn't really strike me either way, but I didn't have any complaints. The first book feels kinda like a prologue to the series, with the second (Veil of the Deserters) starting to show the bigger picture. I'd say they're worth your time.

Bit further into the book, and I see what you mean. The vibe he is evoking with the dialogue is a bit different. Somehow I though the interaction would be anolgous to Whiskeyjack and the Bridgeburners, but this is different. And not bad.

[QuickTidal]

Baco Xtath, on 04 September 2014 - 11:46 AM, said:

On the last third of Shift by Howey and I've gotta say I find the whole reasoning behind it rather silly. Shift spoiler:

Spoiler

"Oh, they could kill us, let's kill everyone including our own citizens before they have a chance." I just don't buy it, even if Kim Jong-un was behind it all.

Just finished SAND by Howey...and yeah it started out with a really strong premise and a really cool world...but there were no actual revelations about the reasons the world is the way it is. The whole thing is a great familial relationship study...but damned if I wasn't a bit upset that not much is really explained by the end. I also find that Howey likes to end his stories on vagueries, so you have to guess how it properly ends. It was quite solid from a character standpoint, but the promise of the worldbuilding drops off once you realize there will be no proper explanation.

I also read Volume #3 of IDW Comics DOCTOR WHO series SKYJACKS by Andy Diggle, which was a GREAT story. Very much in the vein of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE TARDIS, but done SO much better. The Doctor and Clara find themselves lost in a world with nothing but sky and a rip in the sky is pulling in all manner of crafts, including a US WWII bomber with a previously unknown THIRD atomic bomb aboard (called Big Momma) meant for Kyoto. Brilliantly realized story that could easily be an ep of the show.

I'm slowly wading through Neal Stephenson's ANATHEM and finding it really hard to read. the complexity of the prose and world is a stumbler...but I like it for those same reasons. It's going to take me a while to read it.

Not sure what's on deck next.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 04 September 2014 - 01:44 PM

[amphibian]

Anathem is really complex and slow up until a certain point and then it turns into an action movie. A monkish action movie.

I enjoy it greatly and have re read it about three times.

[QuickTidal]

Weaver of High House our new tyrannical overlord whom we bow before, on 04 September 2014 - 04:16 PM, said:

Anathem is really complex and slow up until a certain point and then it turns into an action movie. A monkish action movie.

I enjoy it greatly and have re read it about three times.

I feel all the table setting so far. Glad to hear it's worth the effort. I'll keep at it.

I'm also going to start THE DRAGON'S PATH by Abraham based on PG's pimping of the series upthread.

[frookenhauer]

the broken eye - brent weeks

[polishgenius]

Weaver of High House our new tyrannical overlord whom we bow before, on 04 September 2014 - 04:16 PM, said:

Anathem is really complex and slow up until a certain point and then it turns into an action movie. A monkish action movie.

I enjoy it greatly and have re read it about three times.

I absolutely love Anathem, apart from certain things about the very, very end, where I feel Stephenson tried to be a bit too clever juggling many balls and crashed a few contradictory ones into one another. But it's mostly a work of absolute brilliance.


I've now started (well, almost finished now) Resistance by Samit Basu, the sequel to the superhero novel Transendence which I loved when I read it last year. It's gone to a different, much more conflicted place than I was expecting from the first... and I love it just as much.

[Mentalist]

Finished "Anansi boys'. Felt very much like a Hollywood comedy, but I enjoyed a light read.

Keeping up with my random new resolution to deal with my reading backlog, I will now do a quick re-read of the first "Codex Alera" book, and then read the second one, to figure out if the series is worth continuing.

[Jade-Green Pig-Hog Swine-Beast]

Hadn't realised assail was out! In the middle of the Hyperion cantos again but will put it next on the list.

[Serenity]

I'm halfway through Patrick O'Brian's The Surgeon's Mate and it's brilliant so far.

After that I'll probably read Hannibal by Ross Leckie.

[QuickTidal]

About 10% into THE DRAGON'S PATH, and after a bit of a clunky introduction to some characters (Cithrin and the Apostate's intro's being by FAR the best) the story has begun to click along, and I'm rather enjoying it.

The lore and worldbuilding seem to be top notch so far.

Though the Thirteen races confuse me. Are they all human looking with other traits, or like are the Trag(whatever) being called "dogs" because they are anthropomorphized dogs? Like the Canim in Alera? The Yemmu are like the Jaghut no? There is not enough explanation of the races "looks" for me to tell...and the primer on Abraham's site doesn't help much.

Anyways, lots of fun so far.

[End of Disc One]

You mentioned the primer on Abraham's website and I assume this is what you're talking about:
http://www.danielabr...onomy-of-races/

I believe Firstblood are supposed to be normal humans, and I do think it's strange that all 13 are considered humans. I have a hard time imagining a human with scales, for example. But I believe aside from the unique traits mentioned, they are supposed to look like humans in all other ways.

Glad you're enjoying it so far. I tell people that with this series, it's best to not get impatient for big things to happen. Just sit back and enjoy the writing and characters, and let shit go down when it goes down.

This post has been edited by End of Disc One: 05 September 2014 - 05:58 PM

[QuickTidal]

End of Disc One, on 05 September 2014 - 05:57 PM, said:

You mentioned the primer on Abraham's website and I assume this is what you're talking about:
http://www.danielabr...onomy-of-races/

I believe Firstblood are supposed to be normal humans, and I do think it's strange that all 13 are considered humans. I have a hard time imagining a human with scales, for example. But I believe aside from the unique traits mentioned, they are supposed to look like humans in all other ways.

Glad you're enjoying it so far. I tell people that with this series, it's best to not get impatient for big things to happen. Just sit back and enjoy the writing and characters, and let shit go down when it goes down.

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm doing so far. I enjoy Abraham's writing enough to just be along for the ride.

[polishgenius]

QuickTidal, on 05 September 2014 - 05:19 PM, said:

Though the Thirteen races confuse me. Are they all human looking with other traits, or like are the Trag(whatever) being called "dogs" because they are anthropomorphized dogs? Like the Canim in Alera? The Yemmu are like the Jaghut no? There is not enough explanation of the races "looks" for me to tell...and the primer on Abraham's site doesn't help much.

They're all template-human, yeah, though some deviate a bit more than others. Abraham never goes big into describing any race specifically, but individual descriptions and reactions of people the characters mix with as the story goes on make the picture clearer.

[Baco Xtath]

Had to quit Light by M. John Harrison. I know that all the heavy hitters laud this book as great but I was forcing my way through and not enjoying it. Anyway, I started Brass Man by Asher instead.

Finished listening to Acceptance by Vandermeer. It was good. Not great but good. Though, I probably need to do a re-read/listen to fully appreciate it and before any final judgement. There's a lot of skipping around POV and time wise that was pretty confusing.

[Mentalist]

Blinded of High House our new tyrannical overlord whom we bow before, on 05 September 2014 - 03:50 AM, said:

Alera!!

Fucking A!!

Having re-read "Furies of Calderon" yesterday, I have now finished "Academ's Fury", volume II of the Codex Alera, and I can honestly say, everyome who told me it gets better was right. BK, you may now say "I told you so".


Seriously, Book 1 is very much oyur typical "farmboy is growing up, gets involved in a barbarian invasion, goes on a quest saves the day" type story. The big-picture implications of the first book didn't grab me at all, and the whole

Spoiler

Vord bit

really didn't seem important enough to me to really notice. And I'm literally blown away just how much subtle groundwork Butcher has laid in it for what was to come.

Book 2 is great.

No, honestly, I'm quite at a loss as to how to describe it. The best I can do is to ask you to imagine one of those training machines that shoot tennis balls at regular intervals. And then imagine the machine is shooting tennis ball-shaped lumps of shit at a large fan.

Honestly, that's literally the best way to describe it. Butcher in "Academ's Fury" does something I've not seen done in a very long time--he launches an action-packed story into such a multi-faceted conflict and a plot of an intrigue, numerous betrayals and so many sides and powerful players, each plying their own agenda, that it's impossible not to get involved. And every 20-30 pages Butcher's story does something that makes me think "no way I just read that!". Actually, come to think of it, here's another good way to describe "Academ's Fury"--it's "A Storm of Swords" on crack. Yes, that seems fitting.

I must admit I've had a few bits of the story spoiled to me by the codex Alera mafia game we've played, but even so, I've had an incredible amount of fun with this book. Compared to Malaz, the jump in quality is like going from GotM to Bonehunters in one book.

Seriously, any Malaz fan who hasn't read Alera yet, owes it to themselves to try this series up to Bk2. I was a long-time skeptic, but now I'm an Alera convert. Will be buying the next books very soon.

After that, I'm quite at a loss what to follow up with. Leaning towards Stephenson's "Anathem"--I started this the day I bought it while waiting in line to buy bus tickets, and it had enough intriguing originality.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 07 September 2014 - 03:44 AM

[QuickTidal]

Blinded of High House our new tyrannical overlord whom we bow before, on 07 September 2014 - 03:39 AM, said:

Oh boy just wait... Bk 3 is when shit cranks it up hardcore. Then you have 4,5,6.

My advice is to read a bit then take a cold shower every few chapters cause your gonna have lots of braingasims.

Ed also stay away from the Alera thread till your done.

Yeah, book 3 will melt your effing brain.

[Slow Ben]

Awesome! Book 2 has always been my favorite.

[Kruppe's snacky cakes]

My e-book reading update, consisting of mostly forgettable self-published stuff, a couple of mediocre anthologies, and some classic SF that was also a bit on the dull side:

170. Aisle 13 (Don't Dare Call Them Zombies) by Zachary Stone

171. The Best of Michael Swanwick by Michael Swanwick

172. The Culling (Alien Apocalypse Part I) by JC Andrijeski

173. A Dark Traveling by Roger Zelazny

174. Elixir (Red Plague #1) by Anna Abner - Serviceable YA zombie fiction.

175. The Face In The Frost by John Bellairs

176. The Grimm Diaries Prequels volume 1- 6 by Cameron Jace

177. Haven: A Stranger Magic by D.C. Akers - YA fantasy; I really liked this one, all the more impressive since it's one of those short "set-up" books for a serialized story...

178. The Librarian (Book One: Little Boy Lost) by Eric Hobbs

179. The New Space Opera 2 by Gardner Dozois, Jonathan Strahan

180. The Secret of Grim Hill by Linda DeMeulemeester - Cute kid-lit fantasy/mystery. I'll likely read the 99 cent sequels at some point...

181. Tarnsman of Gor (Gorean Saga, 1) by John Norman - Not as corny/awful as I had been led to believe. Also not very interesting.

182. What Became Of Her by Richard Simms

183. Witch Hunt (The Gryphonpike Chronicles Book 1) by Annie Bellet

184. The Wrong Girl (The 1st Freak House Trilogy) by C.J. Archer

185. Xoe: or Vampires, and Werewolves, and Demons, oh my! by Sara C. Roethle