[Mentalist]

Finally finished The Inheritance Trilogy omnibus

That was a long read, and I still need to figure out how I think about it.

While i'm on the topic of cosmic generations and power shifts, I think I'll follow up by readinG Perumov's "Godsdoom-2 books). May re-read some of the originals (not Chronicles of the Rift though) first.

[Abyss]

JOHN DIES AT THE END. Glorious insane mad mess of losers vs alternate dimension undead invader shadow things. Also, a potentially dead dog. Totally worth reading/listening to. Earbook narrator is great.
On to RED RISING. Interesting setting, but a bit slow, very standard setup so far.

[Abyss]

End of Disc One, on 06 August 2015 - 01:10 AM, said:

Finished Red Rising. You guys were right, this book was excellent. Sorry for having my doubts before reading it.

Baco Xtath, on 27 January 2016 - 10:14 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 27 January 2016 - 02:21 PM, said:

Started RED RISING by Pierce Brown...about 40 pages in so far...ehhhhh

The prose I think WANTS to be something more lyrical (the attempt it certainly there) but it's not really able to get above itself...and that MAY partly be on the present tense first person POV, but overall I feel like the sentences lack a cohesion? It feels choppy I guess?

Also, the naming convention for things is pretty childish. holoCAN, clawDrill...I mean wot?

oh and

Spoiler

Am I mean to buy that these Mars underground miners are stupid enough to not realize that this terraforming they are supposedly doing is bullshit? Up to and including shady caste bitch on the TV telling them their great struggle is worthwhile? I mean if it were me I'd be like "That is some shadySHIT" the moment I learned to read.

It's alright, but I'm non-plussed so far. It's not remotely blowing me away like everyone seems to be by it...maybe that comes later?

I almost quit listening after the first hour because it was so silly but I got into it and ended up absolutely loving it. Plus, it was really well narrated. The emotion it evoked was more than damn near any book I've listened to before. It is YA and it's no literary masterpiece, but it is among my favorite scify books and the last book in the series is probably my most highly anticipated book this year.

90min into Book 1 and having issues with RED RISING - finding predictable, trite, bordering on tedious, and - i know this is a ridiculous critique, but - the earbook narrator's accent is bothering me for no good reason... maybe i'm prejudiced against Irish Martians, i dunno...

Searched the title to see what the forum thought, am suitably encouraged and will push on.

[Andorion]

Abyss, on 18 April 2017 - 03:39 PM, said:

End of Disc One, on 06 August 2015 - 01:10 AM, said:

Finished Red Rising. You guys were right, this book was excellent. Sorry for having my doubts before reading it.

Baco Xtath, on 27 January 2016 - 10:14 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 27 January 2016 - 02:21 PM, said:

Started RED RISING by Pierce Brown...about 40 pages in so far...ehhhhh

The prose I think WANTS to be something more lyrical (the attempt it certainly there) but it's not really able to get above itself...and that MAY partly be on the present tense first person POV, but overall I feel like the sentences lack a cohesion? It feels choppy I guess?

Also, the naming convention for things is pretty childish. holoCAN, clawDrill...I mean wot?

oh and

Spoiler

Am I mean to buy that these Mars underground miners are stupid enough to not realize that this terraforming they are supposedly doing is bullshit? Up to and including shady caste bitch on the TV telling them their great struggle is worthwhile? I mean if it were me I'd be like "That is some shadySHIT" the moment I learned to read.

It's alright, but I'm non-plussed so far. It's not remotely blowing me away like everyone seems to be by it...maybe that comes later?

I almost quit listening after the first hour because it was so silly but I got into it and ended up absolutely loving it. Plus, it was really well narrated. The emotion it evoked was more than damn near any book I've listened to before. It is YA and it's no literary masterpiece, but it is among my favorite scify books and the last book in the series is probably my most highly anticipated book this year.

90min into Book 1 and having issues with RED RISING - finding predictable, trite, bordering on tedious, and - i know this is a ridiculous critique, but - the earbook narrator's accent is bothering me for no good reason... maybe i'm prejudiced against Irish Martians, i dunno...

Searched the title to see what the forum thought, am suitably encouraged and will push on.

This is basically how I remember it, and while it does get exciting towards the end, I have always felt zero motivation to read the sequels. Basically its not really a good book if you think about it too much.

[acesn8s]

Finished Age of Myth. It was good, but not run out and get book 2 immediately good. Not sure what I'm going to read next.

[Salt-Man Z]

Only took me a little over 4 years (bought it with 2012 Christmas money) but I finally finished the Vandermeers' The Weird anthology. Fantastic, even if some of it was tough going at times. (But that's what you're gonna get when you collect 110 stories spanning 100 years of Weird fiction.) Oddly, the second-to-last story I read (Brian Evenson's "Brotherhood of Mutilation") was easily the most disturbing. {Shudders} Great stuff throughout.

[End of Disc One]

I've seen a lot of complaints that Red Rising starts out boring. While the set up is long, the prose flowed well enough for me that I didnt mind. The first book has all of the YA dystopian tropes, but it has just enough badassery and fist pumping moments to carry it through. Book 2 breaks away from the Hunger Games template and is awesome from start to finish. Satisfying conclusion in 3. Great popcorn read.

[QuickTidal]

Started Alexander Freed's STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT: TWILIGHT COMPANY (New Canon), which takes place between ANH and TESB....and this is GREAT! No main OT characters....just straight up Rebel Alliance mobile infantry grunts going through the acts of warfare. Very much like reading a Gaunt's Ghosts book. Reading this one because they announced (at celebration) the next Battlefront-focused novel in canon will be a From-The-Imperial-POV grunts novel that takes place during the same era.

Anyways, fun stuff so far!

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 19 April 2017 - 12:40 PM

[acesn8s]

I decided on Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass. Read a little bit while eating breakfast, so far so good.

[Abyss]

acesn8s, on 19 April 2017 - 02:46 PM, said:

I decided on Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass. Read a little bit while eating breakfast, so far so good.

STEAMCATPUNK FTW.

[JPK]

Briar King, on 19 April 2017 - 03:49 PM, said:

Abyss, on 19 April 2017 - 03:05 PM, said:

acesn8s, on 19 April 2017 - 02:46 PM, said:

I decided on Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass. Read a little bit while eating breakfast, so far so good.

STEAMCATPUNK FTW.

Blah Butcher needs to step it up on the next one. I was just reminded how much I disliked this book for 1st 2/3 of it.

I enjoyed it overall, but it definitely suffered from Book-1-Butcher-syndrome. That being said, I have high hopes for the series since it was definitely a better book than either Storm Front or Furies of Calderone and we all know how awesome both of those series ended up being.

[Cyphon]

Finished the Path of the Dragon by Abraham. Some great characters, and pacing was excellent in an intriguing world. Next book in the series definitely on the list.

Rereading forge of darkness ahead of getting stuck into Fall of Light for the first time.

[Mentalist]

JPK, on 19 April 2017 - 04:46 PM, said:

Briar King, on 19 April 2017 - 03:49 PM, said:

Abyss, on 19 April 2017 - 03:05 PM, said:

acesn8s, on 19 April 2017 - 02:46 PM, said:

I decided on Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass. Read a little bit while eating breakfast, so far so good.

STEAMCATPUNK FTW.

Blah Butcher needs to step it up on the next one. I was just reminded how much I disliked this book for 1st 2/3 of it.

I enjoyed it overall, but it definitely suffered from Book-1-Butcher-syndrome. That being said, I have high hopes for the series since it was definitely a better book than either Storm Front or Furies of Calderone and we all know how awesome both of those series ended up being.

Storm Front >>>>>> Windlass > Furies of Calderon (imho).

Then again, I thought "Furies" was really bad, and it made me drop the series for like 2 years before giving it another shot.

[amphibian]

Do not read Senlin Ascends before reading Aeronaut's Windlass. Bancroft blows Butcher's passable attempt at steampunk completely out of the water.

[acesn8s]

amphibian, on 19 April 2017 - 08:51 PM, said:

Do not read Senlin Ascends before reading Aeronaut's Windlass. Bancroft blows Butcher's passable attempt at steampunk completely out of the water.

I have Senlin Ascends in my queue!

[Abyss]

Mentalist, on 19 April 2017 - 08:34 PM, said:

JPK, on 19 April 2017 - 04:46 PM, said:

Briar King, on 19 April 2017 - 03:49 PM, said:

Abyss, on 19 April 2017 - 03:05 PM, said:

acesn8s, on 19 April 2017 - 02:46 PM, said:

I decided on Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass. Read a little bit while eating breakfast, so far so good.

STEAMCATPUNK FTW.

Blah Butcher needs to step it up on the next one. I was just reminded how much I disliked this book for 1st 2/3 of it.

I enjoyed it overall, but it definitely suffered from Book-1-Butcher-syndrome. That being said, I have high hopes for the series since it was definitely a better book than either Storm Front or Furies of Calderone and we all know how awesome both of those series ended up being.

Storm Front >>>>>> Windlass > Furies of Calderon (imho).

Then again, I thought "Furies" was really bad, and it made me drop the series for like 2 years before giving it another shot.

I only pushed thru because half the forum warned me about bk 1.

acesn8s, on 20 April 2017 - 02:25 AM, said:

amphibian, on 19 April 2017 - 08:51 PM, said:

Do not read Senlin Ascends before reading Aeronaut's Windlass. Bancroft blows Butcher's passable attempt at steampunk completely out of the water.

I have Senlin Ascends in my queue!

Same!

[Andorion]

So I just read this self-pub debut - The Apotheosis Break by Josh Rhoades, and its a really nice series opener about airships. Fun and exciting story, interesting worldbuilding, I would say that this has potential.

[Stalker]

Senlin Ascends is well worth reading.


I also have a self pub recommendation - Glynn Stewart's Starship's Mage series (5 books so far, completing the first arc). It's science fantasy and is about a universe where humanity took to the stars, not from any technological advancement, but on the backs of mages capable of making interstellar jumps. There's good action (well thought out space combat using both missiles and magic), good politics (social stratification between mages and non-mages has created issues), and it's well written. They are fun, fast reads but definitely would recommend them.

[acesn8s]

Abyss, on 19 April 2017 - 03:05 PM, said:

acesn8s, on 19 April 2017 - 02:46 PM, said:

I decided on Butcher's The Aeronaut's Windlass. Read a little bit while eating breakfast, so far so good.

STEAMCATPUNK FTW.

I see what you mean. I did not expect this, it will e interesting to see where it goes.

[Mentalist]

Started my re-read of the first part of the "Thousand Years of Hroft" duology, which is a like a prequel to "Godsdoom" .

Basically what we got is a riff on the Eddas, but instead getting the Ragnarok, Odin is confronted by the Young Gods, and no one really knows why this is happening, instead of the "expected" history.

Kinda simplistic, but I'm just trying to give myself a quick refresher in Perumov's cosmology before diving into the 6-volume "Godsdoom 2" , so reading these 2 prequels, then the original Godsdoom and then probably "Land without Joy" to refresh myself on the New Mages. As much as I'd surely enjoy it, not up to a full re-read of the "chronicles of the Rift" at the moment (maybe in the fall, once I get around to buying an e-reader)