[lobo the wolfman]

Finished Fallen Dragon by Peter F.Hamilton, which was slow in some parts but not bad on the whole. Didn't expect the ending.

Now reading The Stars at War by David Weber and Steve White, an omnibus which contains Crusade and in Death Ground.

[Deornoth]

Finished reading Faith Hunter's 'Skinwalker', the opening book in a new series about a shapechanger who finds herself looking to take down a rogue vampire in New Orleans. You've probably heard it all before but don't let that put you off, 'Skinwalker' is very much a fun read although some of the explanatory pieces are laid on a bit thick. My full review is over Here. I've got loads of books that I'm finishing off right now (somehow didn't manage to finish a single thing that I took on holiday) including Jim Butcher's 'Furies of Calderon' and Erikson's 'Toll the Hounds' (I'm halfway through at the third attempt!)

[MTS]

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind. It is amazing.

[kcf]

So, I finally got my review for The Affinity Bridge by George Mann written. Overall I liked it, but it was mixed. A great steampunk feel, with some uneveness in characterization and plot.

I finished up World's End by Mark Chadbourn and should have a review of it in a week or so. Now I'm reading The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford while I axiously await my copy of Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson, which is supposedly in the mail.

[lobo the wolfman]

Now reading Dan Abnett's The Saint which is part of his Gaunt's Ghost series.

[Tremolo]

Jim Butcher's 'Stormfront'

[Use Of Weapons]

_The Tipping Point_ by Malcolm Gladwell.

What a weird name 'Malcolm' is.

[Abyss]

Just finished The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas... i can't decide whether i'm now more depressed or astounded.

Holocaust lit is always dicey - most of the 'obvious' stories and messages have been told repeatedly. It's very interesting when an author manages to find a novel way to tell a story in that setting.

Impressive book, very short read but worthwhile.


- Abyss, depstrounded.

[High Marshal Flit]

I just finished Caitlin Kiernan's Alabaster, a book of short stories about an young teenage albino girl who goes around the American south killing monsters with a kitchen knife an the behest of an angel only she can talk to. Kiernan's freaking brilliant, just a supremely intelligent writer. I've read all her other books, I guess to classify them would be somewhere in between dark fantasy/horror, but the quality of her work, I'll just put it with literature and call it a day. I can't remember when I started following her, but she's a favorite author of some of my favorites and I think that's what put me on.

Neil Gaiman-"Caitlin R. Kiernan is the poet and bard of the wasted and the lost."-"deeply, wonderfully, magnificently nasty."

Poppy Z. Brite "she writes like a Gothic cathedral on fire."

Those give a little idea, but China Mieville, Stephen King, and others swear by her. I'd probably recommend starting with Silk or Daughter of Hounds. Great stuff though, worth it, especially if your one of those readers who finds themselves re-reading certain passages, descriptions, sentences, etc that just floor you the first time through, SE is one of those writers, then I'd think, hope, you'd enjoy Kiernan.

[teholbeddict]

Reading Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco at the moment. At first I was utterly lost and bewildered, but now I'm about 200 pages in and absolutely loving it. It's typical Eco, so if you don't like his style this is not the book for you. He never says anything in a simple or straight forward manner, but uses thirty words where one or two ould suffice. I don't mind that aspect of his writing at all, and am finding the book to be humorous, mysterious, witty, and captivating. Eco is a genius, a mad genius, but a genius none the less. For anyone who doesn't mind a challenging read and a bit of work, this is an excellent read.

[Chance]

@High Marshall Flit, just read Silk by Kiernan and must say it was interesting very diffrent from what I'm usually reading, Treshold will be next.

She reminds me alot of deLint and but then the themes are similiar, some modernized Lovecraft in there too...


/Chance...

This post has been edited by Chance: 13 August 2009 - 06:49 PM

[Deornoth]

Finished reading Jim Butcher's 'Furies of Calderon', first book in the 'Codex Alera' series. This might not be one for people who like their fantasy to be a little more thoughtful but I loved it anyway and if it wasn't for 'Toll the Hounds' (and a couple of others) I'd be straight onto the next book. My full review is over Here. I'll be reading 'Toll the Hounds' over the weekend, I'm about halfway through now so don't know if I'll have it done by Monday...

[stone monkey]

I'm somewhat surprised that you hadn't read Foucault's Pendulum already. It would seem right up your street. It's a book I adore, despite it holding the record for the book it took me longest to read (two years btw, I kept on getting bogged down in the interlude in Brazil, which adds nothing to the piece imo, giving up and then having to restart it again)

I like to think of it as The Da Vinci Code for grownups...

This post has been edited by stone monkey: 16 August 2009 - 11:21 PM

[teholbeddict]

stone monkey, on Aug 16 2009, 06:19 PM, said:

I'm somewhat surprised that you hadn't read Foucault's Pendulum already. It would seem right up your street. It's a book I adore, despite it holding the record for the book it took me longest to read (two years btw, I kept on getting bogged down in the interlude in Brazil, which adds nothing to the piece imo, giving up and then having to restart it again)

I like to think of it as The Da Vinci Code for grownups...

I admit I am surprised myself, at having not read it, You're right it is someting that would be right up my alley as far as books go.

I've got about three hundred pages left, and I am feeling a bit bogged down by it at the moment. The Brazil section was the least enjoyable for me so far, and took quite a bit of time for me to get through. I agree that it adds little or nothing to the book, other than introducing Aglie. I was not a fan of Amparo, and feel that the whole section regarding Brazil could have been left out entirely. I found it much better going once Casaubon returned to Milan. In my opinion some of the best portions of the book thus far have been the conversations between, Belbo, Casaubon and Diotallevi. I was glad to see there is much more of that happening now that the whole Brazil bit is over. Monsieur Garamond is a real laugh, and now that the Hermes project is underway the book seems to be really coming together, albeit slowly.

I don't think it will take me two years to read the book, but it's certainly taken me longer so far that I thought it would. There are definite flashes of birlliance throughout, and despite the heaviness of the book I have a feeling I am going to come out of it thinking it's absolutely fantastic. I just need to perservere and get there.

And yes I would agree it is Da Vinici Code for adults. Adults who don't mind a challenging read that is!

This post has been edited by teholbeddict: 16 August 2009 - 11:31 PM

[MTS]

Finished Sailing to Sarantium, onto Lord of Emperors now.

After that, finally onto the Dresden Files.

[Use Of Weapons]

Having never read any of George R R Martin's _Wild Cards_ before, I didn't really know what to expect with _Inside Straight_, which the cover blurb bills as a 'clever reimagining of the superhero genre'. It's a series of short stories that serve as chapters in a larger story, whose plot (I guess) was created by Martin, but whose execution is carried out by a variety of different authors. Like a novel anthology.

Anyway, I finished it last night, and it really is excellent. I read Austin Grossman's _Soon I Will Be Invincible!_ some time ago, and it's similar in feel (though without the gently parodying humour that laced Grossman's novel). And an excellent introduction to the Wild Cards universe. I'll certainly be looking for more in this series.

[councilor]

amber.

[Use Of Weapons]

DoD -- Book 2!

[Deornoth]

Finished reading Kat Richardson's 'Vanished'; an urban fantasy that had all the ingredients for something superb... except a decent lead character. Harper Blaine came across as far too lightweight to carry the story on her own, my full review is over Here. I'm now onto the last hundred pages of 'Toll the Hounds' and am aiming to finish tonight...

[Salt-Man Z]

I finished up Titus Groan the other night, the first book in Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy. It's not going to be everyone's proverbial cup o' tea. Slow-paged, minimal action, lots of description of both character and enivronment. But the prose is very evocative and highly amusing, and the characters come alive quite wonderfully. I'm reading the second book now.

This post has been edited by Salt-Man Z: 18 August 2009 - 05:33 PM