[Mentalist]

Finished "The Evolutionary Void", and so, the Void trilo. Impressive ending.

I'll try to persevere with "Worm Ouroborous" as an everywhere read now (only got 100 pages to go, but the upcoming weekend is a write-off, on account of going to a cottage).

Then I'll probably resume the Instrumentalities of the Night series with "Lord of the Silent Kingdom"

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 03 August 2018 - 03:35 AM

[QuickTidal]

Briar King, on 03 August 2018 - 12:50 AM, said:

Putting this in here cause several people interested in this time period hardly ever go into TV thread that I know of.

Macros, QT, Ando, Gabriela: Netflix has put up S2 of their Docuseries Roman Empire. S1 covered Aurelius and Commodus and while the quality was kinda shit it covered some good ground. 6 eps. Now S2 is going back to the Triumphant of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey starting with Spartacus rebellion and at only 5 minutes in the quality already blows S1 away. 5 eps.

Making me want to reread Masters of Rome!

I've been watching! It's great!

----------------------------


Finished Kane's HUNTING THE EAGLE, and it was as good if not better than the first volume...and damned if I don't love these characters!

Started SISTERS OF BATTLE, James Swallow's WH40k Adeptas Sororitas omnibus that combines the two novels (FAITH & FIRE, HAMMER & ANVIL), a prose version of an audio drama (RED & BLACK) as well as a new short story (HEART & SOUL). RED & BLACK was up first, and it was a tidy and excellent introduction to the Sisters. I'm into the first novel now, FAITH & FIRE, and it's already pretty awesome. In my WH40k travels I'd never come across a Swallow volume before, but damned if he's not up there with Abnett, and Macneill for me in this series. SOLID SOLID stuff, with a great team led by a charismatic leader. Will probably just read the whole omnibus without stopping.

[Macros]

Felix Castor book one is much much better than Harry Dresden book one.

[Macros]

Started Mechanicum by Graham McNiel

[Andorion]

Finished Redemption Blade by Tchaikovsky. Really quite good.

Also I read Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey - decidedly below average. I have no idea why Carey gets so much praise - I have read three books by her now and they are decidedly mediocre.

[End of Disc One]

Andorion, on 05 August 2018 - 11:47 AM, said:

Finished Redemption Blade by Tchaikovsky. Really quite good.

Also I read Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey - decidedly below average. I have no idea why Carey gets so much praise - I have read three books by her now and they are decidedly mediocre.

Seems like you have not read her more popular books, the early Kushiel books. I had issues with them but was really impressed with some aspects.

[Gabriele]

Andorion, on 05 August 2018 - 11:47 AM, said:

Finished Redemption Blade by Tchaikovsky. Really quite good.

Also I read Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey - decidedly below average. I have no idea why Carey gets so much praise - I have read three books by her now and they are decidedly mediocre.

The Naamah trilogy is mediocre. Her Kushiel books are much better, esp. the first trilogy. I couldn't warm up to her latest, either.

This post has been edited by Gabriele: 05 August 2018 - 02:03 PM

[Andorion]

Gabriele, on 05 August 2018 - 02:03 PM, said:

Andorion, on 05 August 2018 - 11:47 AM, said:

Finished Redemption Blade by Tchaikovsky. Really quite good.

Also I read Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey - decidedly below average. I have no idea why Carey gets so much praise - I have read three books by her now and they are decidedly mediocre.

The Naamah trilogy is mediocre. Her Kushiel books are much better, esp. the first trilogy. I couldn't warm up to her latest, either.

You mean Starless? That book was so strange - a trilogy squished into a book and the last half felt so random

[Abyss]

Macros, on 04 August 2018 - 12:16 PM, said:

Felix Castor book one is much much better than Harry Dresden book one.

Agreed. Castor generally is a slow boil series, but while Butcher does action, big set pieces, characters, and probably big plot better, Carey absolutely nails pace, tension, and sheer use of language.

[Macros]

Yeah some of his descriptive turns of phrase are excellent


Just finished Mechanum. Easy to see now how the imperiorum slipped into such a shit show after the heresy, how does the mechanicus even function after that?

And the book, I assume this ties into the insidious creep of the warp and eventually into what ever is purported to be the dire depths of WH 50K

[amphibian]

Andorion, on 05 August 2018 - 02:54 PM, said:

Gabriele, on 05 August 2018 - 02:03 PM, said:

Andorion, on 05 August 2018 - 11:47 AM, said:

Finished Redemption Blade by Tchaikovsky. Really quite good.

Also I read Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey - decidedly below average. I have no idea why Carey gets so much praise - I have read three books by her now and they are decidedly mediocre.

The Naamah trilogy is mediocre. Her Kushiel books are much better, esp. the first trilogy. I couldn't warm up to her latest, either.

You mean Starless? That book was so strange - a trilogy squished into a book and the last half felt so random

Andorion - you read a lot of people here telling you that you were missing a bunch of meaning and context by not reading the Kushiel books first before getting into the sequels and then went ahead, doing the same thing.

Why?

[Coco with marshmallows]

QuickTidal, on 03 August 2018 - 01:59 PM, said:

In my WH40k travels I'd never come across a Swallow volume before, but damned if he's not up there with Abnett, and Macneill for me in this series. SOLID SOLID stuff, with a great team led by a charismatic leader. Will probably just read the whole omnibus without stopping.

Don't read his Blood Angels stuff if you want to have that view absolutely shattered.... it's crap.

[Andorion]

amphibian, on 05 August 2018 - 07:40 PM, said:

Andorion, on 05 August 2018 - 02:54 PM, said:

Gabriele, on 05 August 2018 - 02:03 PM, said:

Andorion, on 05 August 2018 - 11:47 AM, said:

Finished Redemption Blade by Tchaikovsky. Really quite good.

Also I read Naamah's Curse by Jacqueline Carey - decidedly below average. I have no idea why Carey gets so much praise - I have read three books by her now and they are decidedly mediocre.

The Naamah trilogy is mediocre. Her Kushiel books are much better, esp. the first trilogy. I couldn't warm up to her latest, either.

You mean Starless? That book was so strange - a trilogy squished into a book and the last half felt so random

Andorion - you read a lot of people here telling you that you were missing a bunch of meaning and context by not reading the Kushiel books first before getting into the sequels and then went ahead, doing the same thing.

Why?

That's because I read the first book and thought I might as well finish the series. But I doubt how much this has to do with not knowing context. Some things are just bad writing.

For example - passive character, who was pretty active and interesting in the last book just became passive - almost classic Damsel in Distress except the character was male.

Secondly all the events and plot were pushed forward by some kind of "destiny" of the main protagonist which apparently gave her urges. This felt like reading the actions of puppets.

There were also other things - like a very insipid excuse for rape, an entire section of the book which was pretty pointless in the context of the book - I hope it matters in the context of the series, and just a weak story in general.

As for Starless, which I read in June, I don't see how that had anything to do with Kushiel, given that its a standalone, set in an entirely different universe.

[pat5150]

Just finished Terry Brooks' upcoming Street Freaks​​​​​​​.

YA through and through and the most uninspired work by Brooks that I have ever read. :/

[worry]

I'm not reading a novel, YA or otherwise, where the protag's name is Ashton.

[pat5150]

Luv2B_Sassy, on 06 August 2018 - 01:05 AM, said:

I'm not reading a novel, YA or otherwise, where the protag's name is Ashton.

Believe you me: His name is the least of your worries!

[Macros]

Started use of weapons last night

[Tsundoku]

Finished The Palace Job, now 1/3 into The Prophecy Con.

Good light entertainment. Interesting worldbuilding that doesn't overdo it. Fun, distinct characters that all get good screen time.

Not too sure about his dwarves though so far. I'm hoping they're a cheeky jab at the stereotype.

EDIT: I don't think I even finished the first Felix Castor book, and that was a few years back. A bit slow I guess. Just didn't engage me.
Do I need to persist, or is that a fair indication for me that if I'm not into it about halfway through then the series probably isn't for me?

I enjoyed the first Aaronovitch one though - Rivers of London? Cool characters and concepts. Plus it was fun to read with London on Google maps so I could quite literally follow the action. Wiki'd a few refs too.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 06 August 2018 - 08:38 AM

[Grief]

Tsundoku, on 06 August 2018 - 08:35 AM, said:

I don't think I even finished the first Felix Castor book, and that was a few years back. A bit slow I guess. Just didn't engage me.
Do I need to persist, or is that a fair indication for me that if I'm not into it about halfway through then the series probably isn't for me?

It's much more of a slow burn than Dresden but imo pays off way better. I do remember it taking a while to get going and think the start of that book may be especially slow. It definitely ends stronger than it starts. At the same time it's more on the detective side, so if you read the first half and aren't curious to continue then it maybe just isn't for you.

[Macros]

regarding Felix castor.

I was having a few niggles with it about the mid point that I couldn't really nail down but I felt it really came into its own for the final quarter for sure.

the pace certainly picks up in the second half