[Mentalist]

Hmm, ok about 3/4 of the way into "The Black Guard", and Smith is starting to channel GRRM hard . His style is rougher, obv, but this plotting is less intricate but comparable to what made ASOIAF such an enjoyable trilogy.

Wasn't really feeling it before, but after reading the 2 chapters I read today, I think I might be in for the long haul to on this series.

[Macros]

Finished 'Marathon' last night, book 2 in the long war series.

En par with the first book, I'll read book three at some stage because I have it at the house and keep an eye out for the rest but in no real panic to devour them

[worry]

That's funny, cuz the series Mentalist just mentioned right above you is also called The Long War.

[Macros]

I've read blackguard, probably was aware vaguely it was also called the longwar.

[acesn8s]

I finished Mortality Bridge, it was ok. I didn't think this would be a mashup of the Orpheus myth and Dante's Inferno.
Oh, well... on to Cornwell's The Flame Bearer. This one shouldn't take long.

[pat5150]

I haven't read anything by Raymond E. Feist in a decade and I was curious to discover this brand new series unrelated to all his Midkemia stuff. Sadly, King of Ashes is bland and uninspired through and through. A decidedly generic fantasy novel filled with tropes and themes we've seen countless times.

Disappointing. . .

[Macros]

Thanks for saving me the hassle of reading it!

[Macros]

Read the first half of Caves of Ice (book 2 Ciaphas Cain) before I boarded in Dublin. Might finish it now on my layover

[Maark Abbott]

Just got reminded that Garfield's arch-nemesis is the baddie in Stormlickers. Funny stuff yo.

[QuickTidal]

Finished MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE. As solid and entertaining as I recall!

And because they finally caught him two days ago now, I'm reading the late Michelle Macnamara's true crime book (about the EAR/ONS/GSK; probably the most prolific formerly unsolved serial killer cold case in the world after Zodiac) I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, and it's as fantastic as I heard it was. I don't; read a lot of True Crime books, but this one is pretty mesmerizingly written. Hard to put down. Recommended.

[Salt-Man Z]

Earlier this week I finished Gaie Sebold's Babylon Steel. I initially picked it up because it was $1 and the cover art looked interesting. It's about an ex-mercenary who runs a brothel in a fantasy town. There's a lot more going on in this than I expected when I started in (I think the paperback is actually like 1000 pages): a murder mystery, a missing persons case, not to mention Babylon's backstory catching up to her. Probably my biggest complaints are that none of the 3-4 threads really meet up in any fashion (other than all involving Bablyon herself), and also that, given Babylon's day job, there are a couple cringey (but thankfully brief) sex scenes. The flashbacks are probably the most interesting bit, but the whole thing is pretty fun. I'm reading the sequel, Dangerous Gifts, right now, which follows on from one of the more-or-less-resolved plot threads from the first book.

[QuickTidal]

 Salt-Man Z, on 26 April 2018 - 05:05 PM, said:

, there are a couple cringey (but thankfully brief) sex scenes.

What, you don't like sex scenes with lizard men with two-pronged appendages? LOL

I only read the first one. It was fine. Nothing special. Let me know if you think the sequel is worth reading when you're done.

[Salt-Man Z]

 QuickTidal, on 26 April 2018 - 05:21 PM, said:

What, you don't like sex scenes with lizard men with two-pronged appendages? LOL

Nah, Sebold totally gets me, lol. Actually, I think the constant use of the word "cock" did it for me as much as anything.

 QuickTidal, on 26 April 2018 - 05:21 PM, said:

I only read the first one. It was fine. Nothing special. Let me know if you think the sequel is worth reading when you're done.

I'd say the first one is worth picking for $1 like I did, but it's back to the usual $5-ish now. The second one so far is an improvement just by dint of focusing on a single plot line (which is really just getting underway 1/4 of the way through) but we'll see.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 26 April 2018 - 05:43 PM

[Abyss]

 Abyss, on 23 April 2018 - 02:59 PM, said:

...
Cruising along through Liu's GRACE OF KINGS. I like. Can't quite say love at the 50% mark, but i'm definitely enjoying it.

Ok, i was all in til Ch 34... but

Spoiler

the banquet where Kuni and Mata finally sort of have it out over who did what during the end of the rebellion... the trite speeches, the most incompetent assassination attempt ever (sword dancing! oh hey, i'll just dance my way over here in front of this crowd and try repeatedly to accidentally stab this guy in the face, wow i wish he'd stop dodging, and now i wish this other guy would stop dancing with me and repeatedly blocking my accidental stabs!), the butcher-soldier interrupting the entire mess by howling at the room for no particular reason...

... was, to me, silly, hamhanded writing that made both protagonists look like morons.
Hopefully the rest of the book reverts to where it was.


Started ORIGAMY. My head hurts. Possibly in a good way, not sure yet.

[End of Disc One]

 Abyss, on 26 April 2018 - 06:07 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 23 April 2018 - 02:59 PM, said:

...
Cruising along through Liu's GRACE OF KINGS. I like. Can't quite say love at the 50% mark, but i'm definitely enjoying it.

Ok, i was all in til Ch 34... but

Spoiler

the banquet where Kuni and Mata finally sort of have it out over who did what during the end of the rebellion... the trite speeches, the most incompetent assassination attempt ever (sword dancing! oh hey, i'll just dance my way over here in front of this crowd and try repeatedly to accidentally stab this guy in the face, wow i wish he'd stop dodging, and now i wish this other guy would stop dancing with me and repeatedly blocking my accidental stabs!), the butcher-soldier interrupting the entire mess by howling at the room for no particular reason...

... was, to me, silly, hamhanded writing that made both protagonists look like morons.
Hopefully the rest of the book reverts to where it was.

Maybe it was written nonsensical but it actually happened in the real life version of the story.

https://en.wikipedia...st_at_Hong_Gate

I wouldn't read too much of the history for spoilers though.

[Abyss]

 End of Disc One, on 26 April 2018 - 06:14 PM, said:

...

Maybe it was written nonsensical but it actually happened in the real life version of the story.

https://en.wikipedia...st_at_Hong_Gate

I wouldn't read too much of the history for spoilers though.

I suspect the 'real life' version of the story may have changed in the telling, but based on the book to that point, i think that the author could have made it work better.

[Mentalist]

Finished "Black Guard" last night. Ok, yes, I'm interested. I'm on board for this series. Good twists in the end.

Turning my head from one bookshelf to the other trying to figure out where to go from here... I think I'm leaning towards "The Dervish House"

In commute: hmm, yeah, Assassin's Quest is a bit of a slog. I'm not completely turned off (and I own "Ship of Magic" in hardback from some library sale, so that'll get read at home at some point, but the travelogue gets annoying occasionally and the plot-induced stupidity of most of the cast ain't helping.

[Macros]

Finished caves of ice, the second caiphas Cain book.

En par with the first. Enjoyable but not as good as Gaunts Ghosts (I get they're very different animals but I'm gauging good on my subjective enjoyment of the finished article)
I will read more, but not a case holy shit I need to read the next one right now like the ghosts were.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Finished Brust's Book of Taltos omnibus. When I read the first two Vlad books, I thought they were going to be fun sword & sorcery, in the vein of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Standalone quests, little continuity. As I read more Vlad, I am getting the impression that I was wrong — there is serialized continuity between stories, and beyond that, it seems like Brust is building to a major climax. I ordered the final omnibus (and then will have to read the uncollected books too).

Started Banks' Excession.

[Chance]

Re-reading Dust of Dreams and enjoying it unsure if re-reading the Chained God or starting up my Esslemont read again is next.

 Whisperzzzzzzz, on 30 April 2018 - 12:05 PM, said:

Finished Brust's Book of Taltos omnibus. When I read the first two Vlad books, I thought they were going to be fun sword & sorcery, in the vein of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Standalone quests, little continuity. As I read more Vlad, I am getting the impression that I was wrong — there is serialized continuity between stories, and beyond that, it seems like Brust is building to a major climax. I ordered the final omnibus (and then will have to read the uncollected books too).

Started Banks' Excession.

Gods you have some really good books to read queued up. Towards the current tail end of books the Taltos stories get a bit meandering but more or less always good but some are clearly Brust indulging himself a bit.