[acesn8s]

Finished The Forever War during lunch, an excellent book.

Now I have to figure out what to read next.

[Andorion]

Powering through Black Company. This book is somewhat of a slow burn For the first few chapters or so I really found it difficult to get into the story. The narrative was so rapidfire, the prose was so terse....it was very different from what I have read before. But now, after crossing the midway point things are being explored in more depth and I can feel myself getting sucked in.

[Abyss]

Finished Meluch's TWICE AND FUTURE CAESAR. Comments in the ded-thread but short version: still love and reco the first four books as a complete story, wasn't impressed with bk 6.

On deck are either Ryan's THE TOWER LORD (Raven's Shadow #2) or Wooding's IRON JACKAL (Ketty Jay #3).


In earbook Sanderson's WORDS OF RADIANCE are still rolling, still enjoying.

In pretty pictures on the Marvel Meth, Jason Aaron's THOR run is good fun... because any time Thor is punching Galactus' teeth out is a good time.

[worry]

Andorion, on 16 September 2015 - 05:46 PM, said:

Powering through Black Company. This book is somewhat of a slow burn For the first few chapters or so I really found it difficult to get into the story. The narrative was so rapidfire, the prose was so terse....it was very different from what I have read before. But now, after crossing the midway point things are being explored in more depth and I can feel myself getting sucked in.

It's definitely VERY jarring at first (even after Malazan), but you come to sink into it like a warm bath after a while. Croaker is such a great character that way.

[Mentalist]

Finished Neal Asher's third Owner novel, "Jupiter War". Found it underwhelming.

This series has started out real strong, with a super-cyberpunk on steroids. Second book took a different tone and was very much an "Empire strikes back" type thing.
Book 3 is all about transhumanism, and the struggle to stay human. What this mean was, essentially, the PoVs of most relatable characters becoming more and more machine-like. Other plots developed in fairly cliche fashion. The central overall struggle was between between a madwoman with all of Earth's resources, and a man who transcended life, merged with the machine, and really only wanted to get the hell away from Earth. I dunno why, but tthis book didn't work for me. It was more of the same, from a series that made a radical change of tone b/w volumes 1 and 2. I wasn't gripped.

Next on commute reading, going back to Stross. Second omnibus of Merchant Princes , "The Traders' War"

In my at-home Malaz re-read finished MoI. Though I never felt any super-attachment for that guy everyone cries about in MoI, the bit with the ice falling into pocket warren and all the stuff around that did make me misty-eyed as always. Once again I'm reminded just how many things MoI sets up. I think that DG and MoI combined account for about 40+ percent of infodumps on the early history of Wu throughout the whole series, setting up nearly all the plotlines that the series will follow.

Onto HoC, enjoying some Teblorific goodness

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 01 February 2016 - 05:58 AM

[acesn8s]

I started reading book 1 in the Shadow Unit series. It's like Criminal Minds meets the X-Files.

[Puck]

Hrmph, I caved and started Slashback by Rob Thurman, book 8 of the Cal Leandros series. So much for showing some restraint and spacing the two volumes I haven't read yet out until book 10 comes out at the end of this year. But.. so much Cal goodness!

[QuickTidal]

Reading my second Drenai book THE KING BEYOND THE GATE, and so far I love it. Gemmell just writes the most compelling books.

[Chance]

Finished up the books of the safehold series by David Weber found it entertaining but not exactly revolutionary.

Started The Lions of Al-Rassan which reminds me why Guy Gavriel Kay is a master of setting, drama and not without a touch of comedy now and then. Not as good as Under Heaven but I expect I'll do another try at River of Stars afterwards.

This post has been edited by Chance: 17 September 2015 - 10:54 PM

[Andorion]

Puckstein, on 17 September 2015 - 04:45 PM, said:

Hrmph, I caved and started Slashback by Rob Thurman, book 8 of the Cal Leandros series. So much for showing some restraint and spacing the two volumes I haven't read yet out until book 10 comes out at the end of this year. But.. so much Cal goodness!

Excellent! I want to get your reaction to one thing that happens in books 8 and 9.

In other news finished The Black Company, and it ended excellently, though I picked out one revelation about 50% of the way in. Glen Cook is a good author, but unlikely as it sounds theres a tiny bit of Eddings in him.

Anyway onto Shadows Linger

[Baco Xtath]

Been bouncing between books all week. I tried Discovery of the Saiph and had to put it down halfway. Not worth it. On and off listening to Echopraxia, the Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, and This Book is Full of Spiders. Not really been in the mood for anything serious so landed on Wong's Spiders. So fucking dumb yet brilliant.

Edit: Just listened to Sorcerer for another hour and I'm done. I'm giving up on the Sorcerer of Wildeeps. Seriously, what the fuck? When the dialogue includes "my nigga" and "nigga please", it just doesn't work. It doesn't even come close to working. It's such a fucking gimmick that the entire story is drowned by the ridiculous "jive" dialogue and I'm out.

This post has been edited by Baco Xtath: 19 September 2015 - 05:00 PM

[polishgenius]

Baco, if you're struggling to get into anything right now: have you read the book of the year so far? That being Uprooted, by Naomi Novik (I recommend reading, rather than listening, just because I'm almost certain that the pronunciation of the Polish names is going to be even more of a clusterfuck than the spelling is. Even though I'm fairly sure you're not Polish and so won't care). That book grabbed me proper.





Right now, I'm making my way through The Diamond Age by Stephenson. It's got some great ideas and moments but it's a bit jumbled. Better than Readme, but it's no Snow Crash or Anathem. Also picking at a rare-for-me non-fiction offering, Charley Burley and the Black Murderer's Row by Harry Otty. The subject is fascinating (it's about a group of boxers in the 1930s-50s who attained a great rep but got no chance at world titles)and the research very very impressive but the writing and compiling is sadly not as good. I'll keep at it, but I was hoping for better.

[Lycaenion]

Started on Good Omens.

[JPK]

Started Small Gods by Sir Terry.

[Andorion]

Finished Black Company 2: shadows Linger. Can somebody help me out a bit?

I did not like this book. 60% of this book was taken up by a PoV and events/activities I had zero interest in/empathy for. Company PoVs were too short, too choppy. Some of the assertions, resolutions seemed less than believable.

Spoiler

Raven's death at the end seemed scarcely credible and very annoying. Why didn't they discover Darling on the ship earlier? Why does the Lady have an obsession with Croaker to be her chronicler? He can't be the only historian around.

I have only heard good things about this series, but now I don't even want to start the third book. my original plan was to finish the first trilogy. But now I feel like I don't care for the characters.

Does it get better?

[amphibian]

Andorion, on 21 September 2015 - 03:49 AM, said:

Finished Black Company 2: shadows Linger. Can somebody help me out a bit?

I did not like this book. 60% of this book was taken up by a PoV and events/activities I had zero interest in/empathy for. Company PoVs were too short, too choppy. Some of the assertions, resolutions seemed less than believable.

Spoiler

Raven's death at the end seemed scarcely credible and very annoying. Why didn't they discover Darling on the ship earlier? Why does the Lady have an obsession with Croaker to be her chronicler? He can't be the only historian around.

I have only heard good things about this series, but now I don't even want to start the third book. my original plan was to finish the first trilogy. But now I feel like I don't care for the characters.

Does it get better?

Yes, it gets better. The third book starts off with one of the best "jarring leaps into unexplored territory" in all of fantasy.

Croaker and the Lady's dynamic is explored further and Croaker's recordings/Cook's writing gets better at fleshing out characters.

You will love the Books of the South if I have your general tastes accurately estimated.

[Andorion]

amphibian, on 21 September 2015 - 04:23 AM, said:

Andorion, on 21 September 2015 - 03:49 AM, said:

Finished Black Company 2: shadows Linger. Can somebody help me out a bit?

I did not like this book. 60% of this book was taken up by a PoV and events/activities I had zero interest in/empathy for. Company PoVs were too short, too choppy. Some of the assertions, resolutions seemed less than believable.

Spoiler

Raven's death at the end seemed scarcely credible and very annoying. Why didn't they discover Darling on the ship earlier? Why does the Lady have an obsession with Croaker to be her chronicler? He can't be the only historian around.

I have only heard good things about this series, but now I don't even want to start the third book. my original plan was to finish the first trilogy. But now I feel like I don't care for the characters.

Does it get better?

Yes, it gets better. The third book starts off with one of the best "jarring leaps into unexplored territory" in all of fantasy.

Croaker and the Lady's dynamic is explored further and Croaker's recordings/Cook's writing gets better at fleshing out characters.

You will love the Books of the South if I have your general tastes accurately estimated.

Ok, glad to hear that. I will give book 3 a chance then.

[Dolmen 2.0]

Reading Red moon by Benjamin Percy. It's a Werewolf story. I've been told it's actually pretty good.

Also as I'm in a mood for horror I picked up the Complete Vampire anthology as put together by Neil Gaiman and a few other authors.

I have to add that the original story of Carmilla was miles better than the adaptations we get today.

Sometimes you can't beat the classics, especially when such a strong female character persists in story while set in such an old fashioned Victorian Europe. It gives the goings on alot more meaning. Probably more meaning than the original author, Mr Sheridan Le Fanu, realized.

[Serenity]

Finished The Quantum Thief over the weekend. Bonkers, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Haven't decided if I want to read the next one, though.

This morning I started Glyn Iliffe's King of Ithaca. Been meaning to read this for ages.

[Puck]

Andorion, on 21 September 2015 - 03:49 AM, said:

Finished Black Company 2: shadows Linger. Can somebody help me out a bit?

I did not like this book. 60% of this book was taken up by a PoV and events/activities I had zero interest in/empathy for. Company PoVs were too short, too choppy. Some of the assertions, resolutions seemed less than believable.

Spoiler

Raven's death at the end seemed scarcely credible and very annoying. Why didn't they discover Darling on the ship earlier? Why does the Lady have an obsession with Croaker to be her chronicler? He can't be the only historian around.

I have only heard good things about this series, but now I don't even want to start the third book. my original plan was to finish the first trilogy. But now I feel like I don't care for the characters.

Does it get better?

As amph already said, yes, it does get better. Cook's writing improves, and you might actually like the setting of the later books.

A few points re your spoiler, which are not spoilerish in themselves, but I'm still going to put them in tags:

Spoiler

About Raven: it's deliberate. He, including his actions, is a deliberate deconstruction of that type of character, but it takes the whole of the trilogy to play out. Also, about Croaker & the Lady.. It's true, he's not the only historian around, so think of it more in personal terms of two people meeting. The Lady's motives are explored further with time, though.

Edit: you might want to avoid The Silver Spike when you get to it, though.

This post has been edited by Puckstein: 21 September 2015 - 12:22 PM