[Andorion]

Finished Peter Clines the Fold. A good book, a fun read, but rather predictable. And I didn't find the "big bad" to be very convincing

[Chance]

Finished up my re-read of the culture novels over the last few weeks. Standing out was that even the books I've earlier found less interesting really are very good. Inversion, Matter, Look Windward and even Consider Phlebas are more complex and entertaining then I remembered them. Thought Consider Phlebas still has at least one section I would have cut from the book and is easily the weakest in my opinion. The series might not be the most entertaining I've read, it remains one of my absolute favorits mostly because it does delve into so many aspects of human nature and give them a twist due to technology and far future societies (both the culture and those it encounters) while still remaining entertaining.

Currently reading Nemisis Games and half way in it really is a step up from the last one and very entertaining while a fairly light read. It does seem predictable so far if all pans out as expeced.

Abyss, on 09 June 2015 - 03:51 PM, said:

In earbook, 50%ish of the way through Sanderson's MISTBORN 2: ELECTRIC MISTAROO .... i'm having some problems with this book. The simplistic motivations, the schoolkid level emo subplots, the dumbing down of the socio political plotlines... there's what to like with this series, but so many of the things that bugged me in ELANTRIS (and were thankfully absent or downplayed in THE FINAL EMPIRE) are coming to the fore here.

It really doesn't get much better, in some respects the end really is even worse then the way there (for the second book at least). I'm always wondering how that series got the cult following it does for sanderson.

This post has been edited by Chance: 14 June 2015 - 12:42 PM

[Baco Xtath]

Sanderson's worlds are a lot of fun but his humor is childish, his writing barely above decent, and his dialogue is cringe-worthy. I've listened to most of his stuff (except the Reckoners and Alcatraz) but I really don't recommend it nor do I think it ranks anywhere near the top of the fantasy genre.

Finished the Liar's Key. I liked it a lot but I knew I would as Lawrence's writing is definitely to my taste. Also, I'm about 350 pages into Poseidon's Wake. Reynolds remains my favorite sci-fy writer. The guy's imagination is amazing. Also I just started listening to the Fold by Peter Clines. Only about an hour in but so far so good and I like all his other stuff so I'm not worried about it.

[amphibian]

Baco Xtath, on 14 June 2015 - 05:33 PM, said:

Sanderson's worlds are a lot of fun but his humor is childish, his writing barely above decent, and his dialogue is cringe-worthy. I've listened to most of his stuff (except the Reckoners and Alcatraz) but I really don't recommend it nor do I think it ranks anywhere near the top of the fantasy genre.

Finished the Liar's Key. I liked it a lot but I knew I would as Lawrence's writing is definitely to my taste. Also, I'm about 350 pages into Poseidon's Wake. Reynolds remains my favorite sci-fy writer. The guy's imagination is amazing. Also I just started listening to the Fold by Peter Clines. Only about an hour in but so far so good and I like all his other stuff so I'm not worried about it.

I sort of agree with you about Sanderson in regards to Mistborn - I'm not willing to be that mean about it, though. However, things have changed since those books were written. By sheer brute force over the years, he's raised his technical writing skills to a high level. His short story in the Dangerous Women anthology is superb.

I have yet to read the second Way of Kings book, but I do think that he will be quite good going forwards - and his already considerable mass appeal likely means that there are things that work for lots of people in his writing already.

Poseidon's Wake is very good. Probably Reynolds's best book since Chasm City. I didn't dig the first book that much, but the second and third in the series got much, much better.

I also finished up Liar's Key a couple days ago. Lawrence does very well with it, although I do have one minor criticism to make. He leaves out a rather significantly complex labor of Jalen's in regards to trading things and doesn't quite set things up perfectly for that to affect the plot flawlessly. The rest is brilliant. Like Sanderson, he is improving his writing outside of his normal wheelhouse and that is helping him stretch the stories beyond the Thorns trilogy very well.

A while back, I read the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms omnibus by N.K. Jemison. Huge, thick book. The first two novels within it are brilliant. Some of the best the genre has seen in a while in regards to magic, consequences, compassion and gods/mortals. The third is not quite as good, as it focuses on Sieh, who is not nearly as interesting as the beings around him, but it leaves the world, characters and story in a good place. The novella that is mostly unrelated is very good as well.

I also found, through Twitter, a lighter series that I quite like - the Black Dog series by Rachel Neumeier. It's about a world where magic exists, quasi--ruled by werewolves after they had a near-Pyrrhic victory vs the evil vampires that used to rule the world, and populated by normal humans and humans with magical powers.
Her website explains the three book series (first novel, Black Dog, one short story collection, Black Dog Short Stories, second novel, Pure Magic) http://www.rachelneumeier.com/books/

The series focuses heavily on the experiences of a mid teens Mexican-American girl who has magical powers, her orphaned family and their integration with the ruling werewolf pack of the Far Northeast. I would characterize it as something along the lines of "Twilight, but actually good, no myopic focus on love stories and definitely without the icky hundred years old vampire seducing a teenage human vibe". Neumeier writes action scenes very well, does a good job of introducing the world at large in pieces that aren't overwhelming or badly delivered and keeps things entertaining with a variety of characters who all have agency and goals that aren't necessarily the same. I highly recommend this series for those who are looking for something lighter than Malazan and darker than Harry Potter.

I tore through Nemesis Game by James Corey. Easily the best written book of the series so far and the splitting up of the crew to do different things works well in part because so much work has been put in correctly before and because the writers have every single one of them doing interesting, unique-to-them and quasi-insane things all the dang time.

Right now, I'm working on City of Saints and Madmen by Vandermeer and I've already gotten Shriek for afterwards. I'm kinda not sold on some of the short stories/novellas (the prison hallucinations one being chiefmost), but the others are brilliant.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 14 June 2015 - 06:49 PM

[Baco Xtath]

I quit Steelheart 1/2 way through and I nearly quit Words of Radiance; there's a back-and-forth between

Spoiler

Kaladin and Shallan

that is absolutely the worst dialogue I've ever listened to or read. It makes Robert Jordan look like Matthew fucking Stover. I love his worlds though - or at least their originality. And, yes, technically, he is improving. I'll continue on with the Stormlight Archives. I'll probably check out his new Mistborn stuff. But, again, I really don't recommend him (except maybe to my 12 yr old nephew).

Yeah, Nemesis Game was awesome.
I only read Dradin in Love out of City of Saints and Madmen but Shriek and Finch are absolutely brilliant.
Also, Jemisin's first two books of the Inheritance trilogy are great, haven't read the third, and hate that it doesn't stack up to its predecessors. I bought Killing Moon and its sequel on audible, just haven't had time to listen to them yet.

[polishgenius]

fwiw, I don't think the third book in Inheritance is any worse than the previous two, and is in a lot of ways better- there's a particular issue with the end that prevents me rating it definitively above the second, but I found it definitely better than the first.

The Dreamblood books are very different. While the world is still incredibly high-magic by most standards, compared to the Inheritance trilogy it's positively grounded. Good, still, but I did prefer Inheritance, mostly because I love the magic there.



I've been doing one of my periodic dives into non-genre reading- currently partway into Restoration, by Rose Tremain, about a very silly doctor in King Charles II time. Fun, but I just bought The Martian, and also Foul Tide's Turning, the second in Stephen Hunt's Far-Called series of which I very much enjoyed the first (recommended for fans of both the Ketty Jay series and of Col Buchanan's Heart of the World, both of which it reminds me of a bit in different ways), and suspect I'll be reading those on my commute this week instead.

[Andorion]

Currently reading the Tabit Genesis by Tony Gonzalez as well as the Vorkosigan books by Lois Bujold. These get better as they go on and are very entertaining.

Regarding Jemisin, my main problem with the third book is its ending. After everything the ending seemed very weak to me.

[acesn8s]

Greatcoats book 1 is already shaping up to be better than Powder Mage book 1. I'm really digging the Falcio character.

[Serenity]

polishgenius, on 13 June 2015 - 06:48 PM, said:

My own reads: finished the Jacob's Ladder trilogy by Elizabeth Bear- why are all of you not reading her yet, people

I read All the Windwracked Stars earlier this year. Loved the way it started, increasingly lost interest as it went along. The Jacob's Ladder ones sound more my kind of thing, though.


Over the weekend I finished The Many-Coloured Land. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it (I had some issues with the final stages of it) and shall probably read the next book in the series fairly soon. Now reading a thriller, Open Season by C J Box.

[QuickTidal]

acesn8s, on 15 June 2015 - 12:04 PM, said:

Greatcoats book 1 is already shaping up to be better than Powder Mage book 1. I'm really digging the Falcio character.

Yay!

Yeah, it's a pretty awesome little read. Glad to hear you are enjoying it.

[Salt-Man Z]

Recently finished Neal Asher's Dark Intelligence. Not sure what to think of it. On the one hand, it was enjoyable reading and had a good mystery running through it. I like the Polity universe, too. (This is the first Polity novel I've read, having enjoyed a short story I don't remember years ago.) And even though it's Book 1 of whatever, it wraps all the plotlines up nicely at the end. On the other hand, it didn't seem to really answer any of the questions it put forth, which is what I assume the next books will do, though where the plot will go next is unclear. And even though it's marketed as the perfect jumping-on point for new fans, I felt like I was missing a lot of background the entire time; heck, some major players that pop up near the end have entire novels dedicated to them.

[polishgenius]

Serenity, on 15 June 2015 - 12:45 PM, said:

I read All the Windwracked Stars earlier this year. Loved the way it started, increasingly lost interest as it went along. The Jacob's Ladder ones sound more my kind of thing, though.

Depending on what you liked about Windwracked, the second book might be worth a cautious look, being a prequel that leads directly in to the prologue. It also has one of the most delightfully hissable villains I've ever had the pleasure to be able to hate.

But yeah, Jacob's Ladder is very different and worth a look in any case.

[Andorion]

Salt-Man Z, on 15 June 2015 - 03:45 PM, said:

Recently finished Neal Asher's Dark Intelligence. Not sure what to think of it. On the one hand, it was enjoyable reading and had a good mystery running through it. I like the Polity universe, too. (This is the first Polity novel I've read, having enjoyed a short story I don't remember years ago.) And even though it's Book 1 of whatever, it wraps all the plotlines up nicely at the end. On the other hand, it didn't seem to really answer any of the questions it put forth, which is what I assume the next books will do, though where the plot will go next is unclear. And even though it's marketed as the perfect jumping-on point for new fans, I felt like I was missing a lot of background the entire time; heck, some major players that pop up near the end have entire novels dedicated to them.

To really understand this book you need to have read at least The Technician and preferebly The Line of Polity before that. The book draws directly on characters and events on those earlier books

[acesn8s]

Finished Traitor's Blade, fucking great book!

[Serenity]

polishgenius, on 15 June 2015 - 03:48 PM, said:

Serenity, on 15 June 2015 - 12:45 PM, said:

I read All the Windwracked Stars earlier this year. Loved the way it started, increasingly lost interest as it went along. The Jacob's Ladder ones sound more my kind of thing, though.

Depending on what you liked about Windwracked, the second book might be worth a cautious look, being a prequel that leads directly in to the prologue. It also has one of the most delightfully hissable villains I've ever had the pleasure to be able to hate.

But yeah, Jacob's Ladder is very different and worth a look in any case.

I'll have a look into it at some point, thanks.


I finished the C J Box thriller Open Season and have now started on the (my) next book in the Vorkosigan Saga, Komarr.

[D'iversify]

Chance, on 14 June 2015 - 12:39 PM, said:

Thought Consider Phlebas still has at least one section I would have cut from the book and is easily the weakest in my opinion. The series might not be the most entertaining I've read, it remains one of my absolute favorits mostly because it does delve into so many aspects of human nature and give them a twist due to technology and far future societies (both the culture and those it encounters) while still remaining entertaining.

Which section just out of curiosity (the Eaters?)?

This post has been edited by D'iversify: 18 June 2015 - 02:54 AM

[Chance]

Read through Nemisis Games and while it was a great read it was more or less great in the way action movies often are, great entertainment and impressing events/scenes but not especially deep.

Currently going through Poseidon's Wake which seems to be even better then the two books before which makes it a really good book.

D, on 18 June 2015 - 02:53 AM, said:

Chance, on 14 June 2015 - 12:39 PM, said:

Thought Consider Phlebas still has at least one section I would have cut from the book and is easily the weakest in my opinion. The series might not be the most entertaining I've read, it remains one of my absolute favorits mostly because it does delve into so many aspects of human nature and give them a twist due to technology and far future societies (both the culture and those it encounters) while still remaining entertaining.

Which section just out of curiosity (the Eaters?)?

Yepp I've read that book at least 4-5 times and it really pulls me out of the story each time.

This post has been edited by Chance: 18 June 2015 - 01:57 PM

[QuickTidal]

Chance, on 18 June 2015 - 01:45 PM, said:

D, on 18 June 2015 - 02:53 AM, said:

Chance, on 14 June 2015 - 12:39 PM, said:

Thought Consider Phlebas still has at least one section I would have cut from the book and is easily the weakest in my opinion. The series might not be the most entertaining I've read, it remains one of my absolute favorits mostly because it does delve into so many aspects of human nature and give them a twist due to technology and far future societies (both the culture and those it encounters) while still remaining entertaining.

Which section just out of curiosity (the Eaters?)?

Yepp I've read that book at least 4-5 times and it really pulls me out of the story each time.

Me too. Everything else in there is fine, but the Eaters just seems SO out of place.

[Maark Abbott]

About to finish The Elenium. After this (tomorrow, basically) I'm testing the water with David Dalglish's A Dance of Cloaks. I need something short and to the point. 900 pages of size 8 text is pretty lengthy!

[Maark Abbott]

Starting on Dalglish now. Initial opening pages suggest it's going to be relatively light reading but that it should be enjoyable.