[Salt-Man Z]

So I finished The Fold about 4 hours after my previous post. Just couldn't put it down! Shortly after the halfway point it just went completely off the rails--in a good way. Overall, it put me very much in mind of Crichton's Timeline mashed up with Patrick Lee's The Breach trilogy (with copious amounts of Deep Sky) and...something else I thought of at the time, but can't remember now. I could quibble a little about the plot, and much of the twists were predictable (or at least I arrived at the answers before the characters did) but overall it was just fantastic. And if I didn't misread the afterword, I think it takes place in the same universe as his novel 14 (which I will definitely have to check out.)

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 19 April 2015 - 04:02 AM

[Andorion]

Salt-Man Z, on 19 April 2015 - 04:00 AM, said:

So I finished The Fold about 4 hours after my previous post. Just couldn't put it down! Shortly after the halfway point it just went completely off the rails--in a good way. Overall, it put me very much in mind of Crichton's Timeline mashed up with Patrick Lee's The Breach trilogy (with copious amounts of Deep Sky) and...something else I thought of at the time, but can't remember now. I could quibble a little about the plot, and much of the twists were predictable (or at least I arrived at the answers before the characters did) but overall it was just fantastic. And if I didn't misread the afterword, I think it takes place in the same universe as his novel 14 (which I will definitely have to check out.)

I am really interested in this book, but how did you get hold of it so fast? I thought it was a June release.

[Salt-Man Z]

Advance review copy through LibraryThing.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 19 April 2015 - 05:33 AM

[Abyss]

Salt-Man Z, on 19 April 2015 - 04:00 AM, said:

So I finished The Fold about 4 hours after my previous post. Just couldn't put it down! Shortly after the halfway point it just went completely off the rails--in a good way. Overall, it put me very much in mind of Crichton's Timeline mashed up with Patrick Lee's The Breach trilogy (with copious amounts of Deep Sky) and...something else I thought of at the time, but can't remember now. I could quibble a little about the plot, and much of the twists were predictable (or at least I arrived at the answers before the characters did) but overall it was just fantastic. And if I didn't misread the afterword, I think it takes place in the same universe as his novel 14 (which I will definitely have to check out.)

I am massively jealous, maximum after that comment.So all over this when it streets.

[Maark Abbott]

Tchyeah fiancee, I got you good.

Spoiler

This is also what I'm reading right now.

This post has been edited by Abyss: 20 April 2015 - 03:26 AM
Reason for edit: Pic size atrocious

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Benn ill with a flu-type bug thing (not proper flu, as I was up and about after a couple of days) so I've been retreating to my standard comfort reading - David Gemmell's Drenai books. Currently part way through Legend.

"WE ARE THE KNIGHTS OF DROS DELNOCH" etc.

[Imperial Historian]

I think legend should be classified as a miracle cure, I always read it when I'm ill and feel better when it's done.

Just finished farlander which was good enough for me to look for the second but didn't wow me. Currently in the middle of on the sure which depicts domestic life in 60's Australia as a cloud of nuclear fallout slowly drifts south eliminating all life. Strangely compelling.

[Maark Abbott]

I've not dabbled in Gemmel. From the covers I would surmise him to be Eddings / Feist style power cheese. Am I on point here?

[polishgenius]

Maark, on 19 April 2015 - 07:45 PM, said:

I've not dabbled in Gemmel. From the covers I would surmise him to be Eddings / Feist style power cheese. Am I on point here?

Apart from I'm not sure why you think Feist is 'power cheese' or in any way comparable to Eddings, (I mean he has his bad moments but Magician and the Empire trilogy are fucking fantastic), no, not even slightly. He wrote essentially Conan-style swords & sorcery, but full-length novels.

[Abyss]

Imperial Historian, on 19 April 2015 - 06:59 PM, said:

Just finished farlander which was good enough for me to look for the second but didn't wow me.

Parts of FARLANDER wowed me but overall I though the book was solid. The second is quite a bit better.I have the third standing by, will be starting it shortly.

polishgenius, on 19 April 2015 - 08:31 PM, said:

Maark, on 19 April 2015 - 07:45 PM, said:

I've not dabbled in Gemmel. From the covers I would surmise him to be Eddings / Feist style power cheese. Am I on point here?

Apart from I'm not sure why you think Feist is 'power cheese' or in any way comparable to Eddings, (I mean he has his bad moments but Magician and the Empire trilogy are fucking fantastic), no, not even slightly. He wrote essentially Conan-style swords & sorcery, but full-length novels.

Seconded... gemmel's characters can be archetypical, and his plots tend to run high fantasy'esque at times, but there's nothing cheesy about his books.Plus there's something nice about how most of them are self contained.

Finished Grossman's THE MAGICIANS LAND in earbook... I have to say I really enjoyed this trilogy and do recommend it in text or earbook form. Earbook benefits from an excellent narrator, but overall I just this was a great fun story, well told.it has a handful of draggy stretches, but they're few and far between. The author does a terrific job of conveying a sense of wonder to his magic and magic settings, and his characters are fun, endearingly flawed and nicely real. Totally worth your time and dollars.
Finished BLACK LUNG CAPTAIN, Ketty Jay bk 2 by Wooding. Good fun, and a hell of an epic finale. Really nice character development right across the cast this time, and the action scenes was glorious. Great series so far.
Next on deck, Col Buchanan's THE BLACK DREAM, I think.

[Maark Abbott]

polishgenius, on 19 April 2015 - 08:31 PM, said:

Maark, on 19 April 2015 - 07:45 PM, said:

I've not dabbled in Gemmel. From the covers I would surmise him to be Eddings / Feist style power cheese. Am I on point here?

Apart from I'm not sure why you think Feist is 'power cheese' or in any way comparable to Eddings, (I mean he has his bad moments but Magician and the Empire trilogy are fucking fantastic), no, not even slightly. He wrote essentially Conan-style swords & sorcery, but full-length novels.

I'd consider Feist as power cheese for a few reasons. Firstly, the very standard D&D race setup (H/E/D) which, although added into here and there, is generally left be. Also his extremely predictable plot lines of 'good guys start to come through, bad guys strike back, good guys unleash the super wizard / maguffin and save the day'.

Don't get me wrong, I loved Riftwar and Serpentwar, but they were cheesyasfck.

[polishgenius]

Maark, on 20 April 2015 - 07:27 AM, said:

Also his extremely predictable plot lines of 'good guys start to come through, bad guys strike back, good guys unleash the super wizard / maguffin and save the day'.

This is true in much of his later work but certainly isn't in Magician.
And even in his much later, shitter, stuff he takes his work in some unexpected directions. Like

Spoiler

destroying the whole of fucking Kelewan.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

I wouldn't say Gemmell is what you're describing. The plots are archetypal as said above and they do get a little samey if you read them all too close together, but essentially they're redemption stories and he explores ideas of honour, loyalty, valour and what have you – he gets a bit less black and white and introduces more complex characters as he progresses(2003's White Wolf is a highlight of this) but Legend was his first novel, and remains a big fan favourite.

Still makes me bounce up and down like a happy puppy, quite unashamedly.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 20 April 2015 - 10:04 AM

[QuickTidal]

Reading Christopher S. Stewart's JUNGLELAND, which is a non-fic book about the fabled White City (Ciendas Blanco) in the unforgiving Honduran jungle that explorers have been searching for for over a century and a half. It's wonderful so far! Very much like David Grann's LOST CITY OF Z, where it switches between telling the story of an older explorer (in this case Theodore Morde in the late 1930's) and the author themselves (Stewart and an archeologist named Chris Begal) making the same pilgrimage. I love these types of books. They prove that there are still mysteries on this planet that remain unsolved.

[Maark Abbott]

polishgenius, on 20 April 2015 - 09:32 AM, said:

Maark, on 20 April 2015 - 07:27 AM, said:

Also his extremely predictable plot lines of 'good guys start to come through, bad guys strike back, good guys unleash the super wizard / maguffin and save the day'.

This is true in much of his later work but certainly isn't in Magician.
And even in his much later, shitter, stuff he takes his work in some unexpected directions. Like

Spoiler

destroying the whole of fucking Kelewan.

Eh, as much as I enjoyed Magician, it was entirely predictable and I'd stand by putting it in the same category as Eddings.

I may look into Gemmel at some stage. Sometimes a man needs to get away from inky spunk to the eyes and into something a bit easier.

[Tiste Simeon]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 20 April 2015 - 10:03 AM, said:

I wouldn't say Gemmell is what you're describing. The plots are archetypal as said above and they do get a little samey if you read them all too close together, but essentially they're redemption stories and he explores ideas of honour, loyalty, valour and what have you – he gets a bit less black and white and introduces more complex characters as he progresses(2003's White Wolf is a highlight of this) but Legend was his first novel, and remains a big fan favourite.

Still makes me bounce up and down like a happy puppy, quite unashamedly.

I still maintain Legend is the best "fist pump" book ever. The amount of "hell yeah" is ridiculous. I need to read it again.

[End of Disc One]

Tiste Simeon, on 20 April 2015 - 04:09 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 20 April 2015 - 10:03 AM, said:

I wouldn't say Gemmell is what you're describing. The plots are archetypal as said above and they do get a little samey if you read them all too close together, but essentially they're redemption stories and he explores ideas of honour, loyalty, valour and what have you – he gets a bit less black and white and introduces more complex characters as he progresses(2003's White Wolf is a highlight of this) but Legend was his first novel, and remains a big fan favourite.

Still makes me bounce up and down like a happy puppy, quite unashamedly.

I still maintain Legend is the best "fist pump" book ever. The amount of "hell yeah" is ridiculous. I need to read it again.

I love a good "fuck yeah" moment (Stover is really good with these). Gemmell has been on my radar--I was planning to read his Troy trilogy but maybe I'll start with Legend.

[acesn8s]

Now I'm itching to reread it again... you bastards!

Spoiler

"They'll say, 'Here lies Druss the Legend, who was never mean, petty nor needlessly cruel. Here was a man who never gave in, never compromised his ideals, never betrayed a friend, never despoiled a woman and never used his strength against the weak.' They'll say 'He had no sons, but many a woman asleep with her babes slept more soundly for knowing Druss stood with the Drenai.' They'll say many things, whitebeard. Through many generations they will say them, and men with no strength will find strength when they hear them."

[Abyss]

DARK MOON.... the plot is trite as hell but the characters.... any one of them could carry a trilogy and Gemmel just casually writes them through a one-and-done.

[polishgenius]

I reckon all you need to know about David Gemmell is contained in the fact that it was deemed appropriate that the trophy you get for winning the award bearing his name is a big motherfucking axe.